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Chap. 
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U'NITED states of AMERICA. ^ 



A SKETCH 



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OF THE 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



OF 



tSBUlinm 7i.Knrn 7AMttCoou, 



WITH AN APPENDIX CONTAIN INO 



The Letter* of the Aid»-<ie-camp John Chamber*, John Speed Smith, Charles 

8. Todd and John O'Fallon — Extracts from Public Document*. 

Statistical Tables, ei cetera, et cetera. 



vj a-Cl'^-?^> 




rtOLISIlEO BY I. N. WHITIN'M 

Columbu*, Ohio 



1840. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



When a man h is been selected from among the people, as a 
•suitable candidate for any important oflice in their gift, it is no more 
than common justice to all parties, that his fellow citizens should be 
supplied with some autlientic information respecting his past life. 
ft is right and proper that they should know what services he has 
rendered to his country, what public stations he has held, and 
with what fidelity and uprightness he has discharged the duties o( 
(hose offices, with which he has been entrusted — that, furnished 
with this information, they may be enabled to form a fair estimate 
of his abilities, and of his usefulness and integrity in his future 
ctreeer. At the present time, no one before the public occupies 
more genend attention than William H. Harrison. \\ v therefore 
think it an acceptable service to those, who are not familiar with 
the life of this distinguished man, to place before them the follow- 
ing brief sketch of his biography and public services. We olTer 
them an honest outline of plain facts gathered from the most authen- 
tic sources. Should any of our readers desire more particular in- 
formation, or wish for detailed evidence of the historic tnith of this 
outline, we refer them to public documents connected with the 
events here recorded: to Butlrr's History of Kentucky, and 
M'Afee's History of the late war; and to the excellent biographi- 
cal works of Mr. Dawson and Judge Hall — from which sources, 
this sketch has been principally drawn. 

William Hknuv Harrison, (who has recently been placed be- 
fore the American people as a candidate for the Presidency, by 
one of the most respectable bodies of men ever assembled in the 
T'nited States, for such a purpose,) was born in Virginia on the Olli 
of February, 1773. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was one of 
the patriots of the Revolution. He was a very distinguished mem- 
ber of the first (-ongress of the United States, which met at Phila- 
delphia in 1774, and was one of the most conspicuous of the sign- 
ers of the Declaration of Independence. He afterwards rendered 



2 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

important services to his country by his energetic and patriotic 
measures as Governor of his native state, Virginia. This eminent 
patriot died in 1791 ; leaving his son, William, under the guard- 
ianship of his friend, the celebrated Robert Morris. 

Young Harrison was educated at Hampden Sydney College; 
and, by the advice of his friends, turned his attention to the study 
of medicine. But about the period when he had completed his 
education, soon after the death of his father, the increased and bar- 
barous hostilities of the Indians on our northwestern borders, began 
to excite a feeling of indignation throughout the whole country. In 
this general excitement our young student participated so warmly, 
that he resolved to relinquish his professional pursuits, and join 
the army destined to the defence of the Ohio frontier. 

The war in this part of our country was then assuming a very 
alarming aspect. The Indian tribes, who had been in the service 
of Great Britian, during our Revolutionary struggle, had not yet 
laid down the tomahawk ; but still persisted in their ruthless hos- 
tilities, and in the almost daily commission of their savage atroci- 
ties. From the year 1783, when Great Britian acknowledged our 
independence, and war with the mother country ceased, up to the 
year 1791, it was estimated that more than fifteen hundred of our 
hardy borderers had fallen victims to the rifle and scalping knife 
of their savage foes. Our northwestern frontier presented an ap- 
palling scene of rapine, conflagration, and wanton destruction of 
life and property. Many of our border setdements had been crush- 
ed in their infancy, and all had been retarded in their growth. Ex- 
pedition after expedition, fitted out to oppose them, had met with 
the most disheartening losses ; and finally, a gallant army under 
Brigadier General Harmar, which had been sent expressly to chas- 
tise these savages, had been signally defeated by them, and almost 
annihilated. Of the few experienced officers who escaped from 
Harmer's defeat, nearly all, worn out with the fatigues of a ser- 
vice so harassing, and shrinkinor from a warfare of so danofcrous 
and barbarous a nature, had resigned their commissions ; and a 
feeling of dismay began to prevade the whole community. 

Such was the gloomy aspect of affairs, when the ardent and 
generous patriotism of young Harrison prompted him to give up 
the comforts and luxuries that surrounded him at home, and peril 
his life in defence of his fellow countrymen. 

He received the commission of an ensign in the United States' 
artillery, in the autumn of the year 1791 ; and hastened immedi- 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISOX. 3 

ately to join his regiment, which was then stationed at Fort Wash- 
ington. He arrived at that post a few days after the unfortunate 
defeat of General St. Clair, near the Miami villages, by the con- 
federated Indians under the command of the celebmted chief, Little 
Turtle. This disastrous defeat, in which St. Clair's army was 
destroyed, with the loss of nearly a thousand men, killed or taken 
prisoners, left the whole of our northwestern frontier exposed to the 
ravages of a merciless enemy, and added greatly to the consterna- 
tion before existing. 

In this state of things, our governnTent saw the necessity of 
adopting immediate and efficient means to put an end to this savage 
conflict. Another army was pronipUy raised, and the command 
given to (iencral Anthony Wayne — a gallant and skillful oflficor, 
who had earned a brilliant rejjutation in the Revolutionary War. 
Wayne's Legion, as his army was called in the new orijanizalion, 
assembled at Pittsburgh, in the summer of 1792 ; and in the ensu- 
ing month of November, they left that place, and went into winter 
<iuarters, at Legionville, on the Ohio, twenty-two miles below 
Pittsburgh. 

About this time, Harrison was promoted to a lieutenancy ; and 
■shortly after, he joined Wayne's Legion. His fearlessness aiid 
energy, with his strict attention to discipline, soon attracted the 
notice of his commander-in-chief, himself a bold and daring soldier 
-and a rigid disciplinarian ; and (Jcneral Wayne, not long aftier his 
iirrival, selected him as one of his aids-de-camp. 

We have entered thus minutely into this detail, because we wish 
to point out at how early an age, and in what trying timet*, young 
Harrison was thought worthy of honorable distinctien. 

Lieutenant Harrison acted as aid to General' Wayoe during llie 
whole of the ensuing campaigns ; ami his bravery and gallant con- 
duct throughout were such, that he- was repeatedly officially no- 
ticed in terms of the highest encomium. The war was conducted 

by General Wayne with all the cool daring of a veteran .soldier, 
and the sagacity of a prudent general — until tinally, ou tjje liOlh of 

August, 1794, he fought the bloody and desperate battle of the 
Miami, in which the confederated Indians, with their allies, were 
totally defeated. Their heavy losses in this battle so disheartened 
the Indians, that, a few months after, they entered into negotia- 
tions for a treaty of peace, giving hostages for their good faith : 
and thus, with the close of this war, were extinguished what may 
be considered the last embers of our revolutionary struggle. In 



4 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

his dispatch to the Secretary of War, after this decisive victor}'. 
General Wayne, in mentioning those whose good conduct made 
them conspicuous on this occasion, says — "My faithful and gallant 
aids-de-camp, Captains De Butts and T. Lewis, and Lieutenant 
Harrison^ with the Adjutant General, Major Milb, rendered the 
most important service, by communicating my orders in every 
direction, and by their conduct and bravery exciting the troops to 
press for victory." 

Soon after this battle, Lieutenant Harrison received the commis- 
sion of a Captain, and was placed in the command of Fort Wash- 
ington — the most important station on the western frontier. He 
remained in the army till the close of the year 1797, when, as 
there was no longer any opportunity to serve his country in the 
field, he resigned his commission, to commence his career of civil 
services. He was almost immediately appointed secretary, and 
ex-qfficio, lieutenant-governor of the Northwestern Territory ; 
which then embraced the whole extent of our country lying north- 
west of the Ohio river — thus receiving the first civil appointment 
in that part of our country which he had periled his life to defend. 

While in this station he entered so warmly into the interests of 
the people, and his intelligence and the kmdness and urbanity of 
his manners rendered him so popular, that when, in the following 
year, they became entitled to representation in the councils of the 
nation, they almost unanimously elected him their first delegate to 
Congress. Mr. Harrison was, at this time, about twenty-six years 
of age. 

He took his seat in the House of Representatives, at the first 
session of the sixth Congress, in December, 1799. There were- 
then in Congress some of the ablest and most enlightened states- 
men, and some of the most eloquent men, our country has ever 
produced. Yet in this severe ordeal, the abilities and manly ener- 
gies of Mr. Harrison soon commanded universal respect. At this 
period, the all-engrossing subject in the West, and one in which 
our whole country had a. deep interest, was the sale of our public 
lands. The manner in which these lands had been hitherto dis- 
posed of, had created great dissatisfaction among the people. They 
had been sold only in large tracts ; the smallest of which included, 
at least, four thousand acres. Our hardy yeomanry, with limited 
pecuniary means, were thus shut out from all chance of competi- 
tion with wealthy speculators and grasping monopolists, in the 
purchase of these lands — the poorer emigrants were becoming. 



WILLIAM HENRY HAKrISON'. 5 

diaheariened aiihe chilling progpecls before them, and the settle- 
ment of the new country was greatly retarded. Fully aware of 
the impolicy and injustice of this stale of tilings, and true to the 
trust confided in him, Mr. Harrison's earliest legislative etVorls were 
made to overthrow this peniicious system. He aroused the atien- 
tention of Congress to the consideration of this important subject, 
and evinced so intimate an acquaintance with the facts and business 
details connected with it, that he was appointed chairman of a 
committee raised to examine into and report on the existinsr mode 
of disposing- of the public lands. After a proper investigation, he 
presented a report, accompanied by a bill, tlie principal object of 
which w.is to reduce the size of the tracts of public land offered 
for sale, to such a smaller number of acres as m ould place llieni 
within the reach of actual settlers. 

'I'his masterly report, which was the joint production of himself 
and Mr. Gallatin, together with the great ability and eloquence 
with which he defended his bill from the powerful opposition it 
encountered in the House, gained Mr. Harrrison a reputation 
rarely atuiined by so young a statesman. The bill was carried 
triumphantly in the House, and finally, after some amendmenti«, 
passed the Senate. The result w:ls, that the public lands, instead 
of beiii^ olTered only in large tracts, of wUich four thousand acres 
was the smallest size, were now to be sold in alternate sections and 
half sections — the former containing six hundred and forty, and 
the hitter three hundred and twenty acres each. The point gained 
was of immense importance, since, from the low price of these 
lands, and the small amount of purchase money required to be 
paid, they were now within tlie reach of nearly all the poorer emi- 
grants and actual settlers, who fell a natural desire to own the fee 
simple of their homes, and of the lands iliey subdued from tlje 
wilderness. Thousands of the hardy and industrious farmers of 
our northern and middle States, and many of the poorer planters 
of the south, availed themselves of the fair field which was now 
opened for emigration and enterprise; and we may justly consider 
this happy result, wliich Mr. Harrison was so instrumental in pro- 
ducing, as one of the leadmg causes of the rapid setUement and 
prosperity of our western country. 

In the year 1800, the Noribwcstern Territory was divided. — 
Tliat part of the old territory, included within the present bounda- 
ries of Ohio and Michigan, retained its former name ; and tlie im- 
mense extent of country, northwest of lhis» was made a separate 

A* 



6 LIFE ASD PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Territory, and received the name of Indiana. Soori after this di- 
vision had taken place, Mr. Harrison resigned his seat in Con- 
gress, and was appointed governor of the new territory. This 
appointment gave great satisfaction to the people of Indiana, with 
whom the patriotic exertions of Mr. Harrison had rendered him 
deservedly popular; and it was, at the same time, the strongest evi- 
dence of the confidence, with which the general government reli- 
ed upon his integrity, prudence, and capacity for civil govern- 
ment. 

The extent of Indiana was almost boundless. The small pop- 
ulation it then contained was thinly scattered through a vast wil- 
derness, and only three settlements of any note existed within its 
territory. One of these was at Vincennes, the capital ; another at 
the Falls of the Ohio, one hundred miles distant from Vincennes ; 
and the third was on the Mississippi, at a distance of more than 
two hundred miles from the capital. The communication be- 
tween these remote points was, at all times, difficult and toilsome, 
and often attended with great danger. There existed no practica- 
ble roads, and nearly all the intermediate country was occupied 
by the Indians, or overrun by their hunting parties. Most of 
those savage tribes, though professing to be friendly, were rest- 
less and dissatisfied; and their leading chiefs still nursed a moody 
hope of revenge for the mortifying defeat they had sustained six 
years before, at the battle of the Miami. Artful and treacherous, 
numerous, warlike, and thirsting for plunder, they kept this re- 
mote frontier in continual excitement and alarm. The angry feel- 
ings of our hardy borderers were frequently roused by some rob- 
bery or atrocious violence committed by the more evil disposed 
among their savage neighbors, and quarrels often ensued, which 
threatened the peace of the whole community. 

Such was the existing state of things in Indiana Territory, when 
Mr. Harrison was appointed to the administration of its govern- 
ment. As governor of a frontier Territory so peculiarly situated, 
Mr. Harrison was invested with civil powers of the most import- 
ant nature, as well as with military authority. Besides the ordi- 
nary powers which he held, ex officio, as governor, he had the 
sole power of dividing the district into counties and townships, 
and was appointed the general superintendent of Indian aflfairs. — 
He had likewise the usual power of conferring on a numerous 
class of individuals a legal title to large grants of I and, on which 
they before had merely an equitable claim. His sole signature 



"WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. T 

was suflicient, without any other formality', to give a valid title to 
these extensive and valuable tracts of land. Possessed of this im- 
mense power, opportunities were continually before him, of accu- 
mulating a princely fortune ; but the scrupulous sense of honor, 
which has always characterized Mr. Harrison, would never per- 
mit him to speculate in lands over which he had any control.— 
And it is a fact worthy of note, that, during the whole time that 
he held this important trust, he never availed himself of his pecu- 
liar advantages to acquire a single acre of land. No shadow of 
suspicion ever doubled his disinterestedness, and not a murmur 
ever accused him of partiality, or even of unnecessary delay, in the 
performance of this delicate duty. We mention this only to show 
that the integrity of Mr. Harrison is not merely theoretical, but 
practical ; and that it has always shone with the purest lustre when 
assailed by the strongest tcmptationf. 

In 1H()3, Mr. Jefferson appointed Governor Harrison sole ''com- 
missioner to enter into any treaties which may be necessary with 
any Indian tribe.", northwest of the Ohio, and within the territory 
of the United States, on the subjrcti< of their boundaries or lands." 
By virtue of this, or a similar autiiority, during the subsequent 
course of his administration, Harrison effected thirteen important 
treaties with the different tribes, on the most advantn^cous terms ; 
and obtained from them, at various limes, the cession of large 
tracts of land, amounting, in all, to more than sixty millions of 
acres, and embracing a large portion of the richest region in our 
country. 

In their frequent intercourse with (Jovenior Harrison, the In- 
dians had learned to respect his undaunted firmness, and were, at 
the same time, conciliated by his kindness of manner and consid- 
erate forbearance. This, with his intimate knowledge of the In- 
dian character, is the tnie secret of the remarkable success that 
has uniformly attended every treaty he has attempted to effect. 

The various and arduous duties of the Governor of Indiana re- 
quired, for this ortice, a man of very superior abilities — one pos- 
sessed of stem integrity, and prudent moderation, accompanied by 
the most unwavering tirmness. Such a man Governor Harrison, 
in the Ion? course of his administration, fully proved himself to 
be. The plainest evidence of this, to those who are not familiar 
with ihe history of Indiana during this period, is ihe fact, that, for 
thirteen years, at every successive expiration of his term of office, 
he was re-appointed, at the earnest solicitation of the people of the 



8 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Territory, and with the public expression of the most flattering ap- 
probation on the part of our chief executive. And this too, not- 
withstanding the entire change which had taken place within that 
time, in the ruling politics of the country — his first appointment 
having been made by Mr. Adams, his second and third by Mr. 
Jefferson, and his fourth by Mr. Madison. The following extract 
from the resolution, unanimously passed by the House of Repre- 
sentatives of Indiana, in the year 1809, requesting the re-appoint- 
ment of Governor Harrison, will show the estimate which a long 
acquaintance had taught them of his worth: — "They (the House 
of Representatives) cannot forbear recommending to, and request- 
ing of, the President and Senate, most earnestly in their own 
names, and in the names of their constituents, the re-appointment 
of their present Governor, AVilliam Henry Harrison — because he 
possesses the good washes and affection of a great majority of his 
fellow-citizens ; — because they believe him sincerely attached to 
the Union, the prosperity of the United States, and the administra- 
tion of its government : — because they believe him in a superior 
degree capable of promoting the interests of our Territory, from 
long experience and laborious attention to its concerns, from his in- 
fluence over the Indians, and wise and disinterested management 
of that department ; and because they have confidence in his vir- 
tues, talents, and republicanism.*' 

If necessary, we might fill a goodly volume with extracts from 
public documents of a similar nature ; but what stronger proof than 
this could we have of the popularity of Governor Harrison, and of 
the entire confidence with which the people relied on his integrit}- 
and ability as a statesman? 

In the year 1805, the celebrated Indian chief, Tecumseh, and 
his notorious brother, the Shawanese Prophet, 01-li-wa-chi-ca, 
(sometimes called Els-kwa-taw-a,) began to create disturbances on 
the frontiers of Indiana. Tecum.seh was a bold and daring war- 
rior ; sagacious in council and formidable in battle. The Prophet 
was a shrewd impostor, cunning, artful, and treacherous ; — and 
they were leagued together by the tie of mutual interests, and a 
common hatred to the whites. The object of the» crafty intrig- 
uers was to form, by their own influence and the aid of foreign 
emissaries, a combination among all the northwestern tribes of In- 
dians — with the hope, that by a simultaneous attack, they might 
destroy all the whites, or force them from the Valley of the Mis- 
sissippi. But their designs were soon known to Governor Harri- 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 9 

son, and, aware of his dangerous situation, his prudence a-;d wise 
policy enabled him for several years, to hold his savage neighbors 
in check. The following extracts from a speech, which he deliv 
ered to the Legislature of Indiana, in 1809, will serve to show 
tljat he fully understood the nature and cause of the excitement 
tlien existing among the Indians: — "Presenting, as we do," said 
Governor Harrison, "a very extended frontier to numerous and 
warlike tribes of the aborigines, the state of our relations with 
them must always form an important and interesting feature in our 
local politics. It is with regret to that I have to inform you, that 
the harmony and irood understanding which it is so much our inter- 
est to cultivate with those our neighbors, have, for some time past, 
experienced a considerable interruption, and that we have indeed 
been threatened with hostilities, by a combination formed under 
the auspices of a bold adventurer, who pretended to act under the 
immediate inspiration of the Deity. His character as a prophet 
would not, however, have given him any very dangerous influence, 
if he had not been aasiated by the intrigues and advice of foreign 
aorents, and other disaflected persons, who have for years omitted 
no opportunity of counteractiiij? the measures of the government 
with H'gard to the Indians, and filling their naturally jealous mind? 
with suspicions of the justice and integrity of our views loward.- 
them." 

Two years subsequent to this, in IHl 1, from petty ajrgrcssions, 
the Indians proct'cded to more open violence, and acts of decided 
hostility. The war-whoop was again heard yelling within the 
limits of the Territory, and every day brought fresh accounts of 
the perpetration of those actrocious deeds of depredation and mur- 
<l«'r, which fllwavs give the first intimation of a savage war. FVom 
motives of humanity as well as jwlicy, (iovernor Harrison had al- 
ways endeavored to avoid a war with the Indians ; but when this 
result lyc.ime unavoidable, he promptly adopted the most energetic 
measures, within his limited resources, to place the Territory in 
a posture of defence. At his own earnest request, and at the so- 
licitation of the people, thf President, soon after, directed him to 
march with an armed force towards the principal place of rendez- 
vous of the hostile Indians, the Prophet's town, on the Wabash, 
near the mouth of the Tippecanoe — where this crafty impostor 
had assembled a body of more than a thousand fierce warriors, 
ready to ol)ey his will. 

Governor Harrison immediately assembled five hundred of the 



10 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 



t 



militia and volunteers of Indiana. These, with a regiment of United 
States infantry, consisting of three hundred and fifty men, com- 
manded by Colonel Boyd, and a small body of volunteers from 
Kentucky, constituted his whole available force — amounting in all 
to about nine hundred effective men. As soon as he had disciplin- 
ed these troops, and trained both the regulars and militia in the 
Indian mode of warfare, he took up his line of march towards the 
Prophet's town. 

He left fort Harrison, on the Wabash, about sixty miles above 
Vincennes, on the 28th of October, 1811. Profiting by his own 
early experience, and the remembered example of his old friend 
and commander. General Wayne, his march through a wild coun- 
try to Tippecanoe, was conducted with so much skill and pru- 
dence, that he avoided all danger of ambuscade or surprise from 
the savage foe. On the 6th of November, the array arrived within 
five or six miles of the Prophet's town. According to the in- 
structions he had received from the President, General Harrison 
immediately sent in a flag of truce, to endeavor to open an amica- 
ble negotiation with the hostile Indians. To this overture, the 
Prophet returned a deceitful reply — he professed the most pacific 
intentions, and agreed to meet Harrison the next day in council, 
with his chiefs, to settle definitely the terms of peace. But Har- 
rison knew too well the treachery of his artful antagonist, to al- 
low himself to be deceived by his specious professions^, or lulled 
into any fancied security. He carefully selected the most eligible 
and defensible position for his encampment, and ordered his troops 
to lie upon their arms all night, that they might be in readiness, at 
a moment's warning, to repel any sudden attack of tlie enemy. 
The sequel proved that these precautions were wisel}^ adopted. 

An anxious night passed away without interruption ; but about 
four o'clock on the following morning, two hours before daylight, 
a sentinel at one of the outposts discovered an Indian (peeping 
stealthily towards the camp. He immediately gave the alarm, and 
almost at the same instant, a strong body of the enemy rushed 
towards the encampment, with the most savage yells. They made 
a furious charge on the left of the camp ; and so sudden and des- 
perate was their onset, that the guard stationed in that quarter, 
gave way, at first, to their fierce assailants. But the brave troops 
soon rallied, and retrieved the ground they had lost. The camp- 
fires were extinguished with all possible haste, and the battle was 
now waged on more equal terms. Our gallant troops fought with 



WU^LrXM HENRY HARRISON*. H 

^» ino3t daring intrepidity, and their savage foes evinced a despe- 
rate valor worthy of a better cause. The battle raged with ffreat 
fury till the dawn of day, when a simultaneous charge was made 
upon the enemy, on either flank, and they were speedily put to 
flight, with great loss, and the battle terminated. During all this 
time, the false Prophet had been seated at a safe distance from the 
field of battle, chanting a war-song, and promising victory to his 
deluded brethren. 

The battle of Tippecanoe was one of the most spirited and best 
fought actions recorded in the annals of our Indian wars. The 
numbers and the weapons on either side were nearly equal ; and the 
Indians, contrary to their usual custom, fought hand to hand, and 
with the fiercest bravery. Every man in this battle encountered 
his share of danger; but no man was in more personal poril than 
Governor Harrison himself — well known to many of the Indians, 
and the object of their peculiar attack — his fearless and unshrink- 
ing exposure, makes it seem almost a miracle that he should have 
escaped unwoundod. In referring to tlie coolness and intceritv of 
(lovernor Harrison, on lliis occasion, we cannot refrain from mak- 
ing the following extract* from a journal published in 1816, by a 
private soldier, who fought in this battle, and who could have had 
no interested motives for his publication: — ''General Harrison," 
he pays, •'received a shot through the rim of his hat. In the heat 
of the action his voice was frequently heard, and easily distinguish- 
ed, giving his orders in ihe same calra, cool, and collected man- 
ner in which wc had been used to receive them on drill or parade. 
The confidence of the troops in the General was unlimited." The 
same writer, in speaking of Harrison's kindness to the soldiers, and 
his influence over them, remarks: — "He appeared not disposed to 
detain any man against his inclination ; being endowed by nature 
with a heart as humane as brave, in his frequent addresses to the 
militia, his eloquence was formed to persuade ; appeals were made 
to reason as well as feeling, and never were they made in vain." 

An incident liiit occurred at this time, is worth recording. The 
night before the battle, a negro man belonging to the camp, who 
had been missing, was arrested near the Governor's marquee, un- 
der very suspicious circumstances. He was tried by a court-mar- 
tial for desertion to the enemy, and for an attempt to assassinate 
the Governor. Suflficient evidence was found to convict him, and 
he was sentenced to death ; yet such were the humane feelings of 
Harrison, that he could not induce himself to sign the order for hi? 



12 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

execution. As a criminal attempt had been made against his own 
life, he felt himself privileged to exercise his benevolence towards 
the offender, and the misguided wretch was suffered to escape the 
just punishment of his crime. It would have been more in accord- 
ance with' the principles of strict justice, to have allowed the law 
to take its own course in this instance ; but the circumstances of 
the case were very peculiar, and Governor Harrison's conduct 
evinced a magnanimity and humanity of heart rarely equaled. 

The importance of the victory at Tippecanoe, cannot be too 
highly estimated. It quelled the haughty spirit of the discontent- 
ed and hostile Indians, and defeated the plan which they had al- 
most matured, of attacking and destroying our scattered border set- 
tlements in detail. Had we lost this battle, our army must have 
been annihilated — the whole extent of our defenceless frontier 
would have been left to the mercy of sanguinary and unsparing 
savages ; and the consequent loss of life, and destruction of prop- 
erty, would have been almost incalculable. 

The President, in his message to Congress, dated December 
18th, 1812, makes the following honorable mention of this battle: 
"While it is deeply to be lamented," says Mr. Madison, "that so 
many valuable lives have been lost in the action that took place on 
the 9th ult.. Congress will see, with satisfaction, the dauntless spirit 
and fortitude victoriously displayed by every description of troops 
engaged, as well as the collected firmness which distinguished 
their commander, on an occasion requiring the utmost exertion of 
valor and discipline." 

The Legislature of Kentucky, at their ensuing session, expres- 
sed their high sense of Governor Harrison's good conduct on this 
ocasion, by the following complimentary resolution : — 

Resolved, That in the late campaign against the Indians, on 
the Wabash, Governor W. H. Harrison has, in the opinion of this 
legislature, behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a general ; and that 
for his cool, deliberate, skillful, and gallant conduct, in the late 
battle of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest thanks of the 
nation." 

This high enconium came from those whose friends and neigh- 
bors had participated in the late campaign, and who were conse- 
quently familiar with its details, and with the merits of the com- 
mander. 

War was declared against Great Britian in June, 1812. Prior 
to this event, British agents had, for a long time, been tampering 



WILLIAM HENHY HARRISON. 13 

with the discontented Indians within our Territory, and had bribed 
them with presents, and furnished ihera with firearms, to induce 
them to renew iheir hostilities against our country. The crafty 
and daring Tecumseh, too, was once more in the field. Urged on 
bv his savage eloquence, by his own native love for war and plun- 
der, and by the atrocious intrigues of foreign agents, the north- 
western Indians again raised the war-whoop, and commenced their 
barbarous system of warfare. Their cruel murders and depreda- 
tions became of frequent occurrence ; and the wailings of bereaved 
mothers and orphans, and the bitter complaints of those who had 
escaped from the confiagration of their plundered homes, excited 
the commisseration of our hardy borderers, and roused a general 
feeling of indignation. Such was the state of excitement in our 
frontier settlements in the summer of 1812. 

Iiiiniediately after the declaration of war, our western governors 
promptly adopted every measure in their power, for the defence 
of their respective stales and territories. But conscious of the 
great abilities and experience of Harrison, they placed the utmost 
reliance on his councils, and looked to him as the leader, under 
whom they might hope for success against tha common enemy. 
He aided Governor Edwards in placing the frontier of Illinois it 
a posture of defence, and soon after, was invited by Governor 
Scott, of Kentucky, to a conference in relation to the Kentucky 
troops, which had been raised for the defence of the frontier. He 
accepted tliis inviuition, and met (governor Scott at Frankfort; 
where he was received with the acclamations of the people, and 
with the highest civil and military honors. Tluso pul)lic marks 
of the hijzh estimation in which Harrison was held by the people, 
were shortly after followed by proofs htill more flattering, of their 
confidence in his patriotism, his abilities and his military skill. 
Governor Scott had levied an armed force of more than five thou- 
sand militia and volunteers, commanded by some of the ablest mem 
and most experienced oflicers in the state. Two thousand of these 
troops were ordered for immediate service ; and they had no 
sooner learned that they were destined to march to the aid of their 
fellow-countrymen on the frontier, than they at once unanimously 
expressed the most earnest desire, to he placed under the command 
•f Governor Harrison. This desire was responded to by the 
wishes of the people throughout the state. The laws of Kentucky, 
however, would not permit any other than a citizen, to hold a com- 
mand in the State militia. In this dilemma, Governor Scott con- 

B 



14 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

suited with the venerable Shelby, (the governor elect,) the Hon. 
Henry Clay, and other distinguished citizens of the state ; and by 
their unanimous advice, he gave Harrison a brevet commision of 
major general in the Kentucky militia, with express authority to 
take command of the gallant troops, about to march to the frontier. 
This was a bold and unprecedented measure, butone that gave un- 
bounded satisfaction to both soldiers and citizens, and one fully 
warranted by the peculiar exigencies of the case. These facts 
speak volumes in favor of the remarkable popularity which Gov- 
ernor Harrison enjoyed in a population of brave and chivalric peo- 
ple, boasting an unusual proportion of talented and distinguished 
men. 

About this time, the cowardice and imbecility of General Hull 
tamely surrendered to the British the important post of Detroit, 
with the gallant force which composed its garrison. This event 
spread consternation far and wide, through the western countrv% 
and greatly increased the difficulty and arduous nature of Governor 
Harrison's duties. He immediately organized the brave troops 
under his command, and commenced a rigid discipline and military 
training ; with the confident hope of retrieving the disasters con- 
sequent upon the cowardly surrender of Detroit. 

Soon after, he was appointed a Brigadier general in the service 
of the United States. But, as the chief command of the western 
army was conferred on General Winchester, Harrison declined ac- 
cepting the commission tendered him, and gave up his command, 
to return to Indiana and resume the duties of his territorial govern- 
ment. 

General Winchester, who had thus superseded Governor Har- 
rison, was an old revolutionary soldier, and a brave and meritori- 
ous officer ; but one who was not, like Harrison, possessed of the 
enthusiastic confidence of the army. Governor Harrison exerted 
every effort in his power, to reconcile the troops to his charge. 
But soon after he left them, their displeasure at having been de- 
prived of their favorite commander, was not confined to murmurs, 
but created disaffection and almost mutiny. 

No sooner was the President made aware of the condition of 
the army, and of the almost unanimous wishes of the western peo- 
ple, than he immediately appointed Harrison, in place of Win- 
chester, Commander-in-chief of the north-western army. The 
dispatch conveying this appointment, overtook him on his way to 
Indiana, and he returned without delay to the army, and was re- 
instated in his command. 



WITLIAM" HENRY HARRISON. 16 

The powers conferred on Harrison, as commander-in-chief of 
the north-western army, were of great extent, and he was left to 
exercise them according to his own unrestricted judgment. In 
the dispatch containing this appointment, dated September 17th, 
1812, the Secretary of War says: — "You will command such 
means as may be practicable — exercise your own discretion, and 
act in all cases according to your own judgment,"— thus conferring 
upon him extraordinary and almost unlimited powers. We refer 
to this, merely that we may here notice the remarkable fact, that 
though vested with unusual powers. General Harrison was never 
known, during the whole of his command, to exercise his authority 
in an unjust or oppressive manner. His measures were energetic, 
but always qualified by his characteristic moderation and humanity, 
and by a regard for llie feelings of even the meanest soldier in his 
camp. 

The duties that devolved on (iencral Harrison, in his new sta- 
tion, were arduous beyond descri|)iiop.. The troops under his com- 
mand, though brave, were mostly inexperienced and undiscijdined 
recruits; and the army was badly equipped, and nearly destitute 
of baiTK^gf^ and military stores. With these limited means, and 
under these unfavorable circumstanres, he was required to defend 
an immense extent of frontier, stretching alon^^ the shores of the 
great northern lake?*, whose numerous harbors and rivers were easy 
of access to the enemy. In addition to this, the roads leading to 
those points which most required defence, were nearly impassa- 
ble, and lay, for hundreds of miles, through a wilderness swarm- 
ing with hoslile Indians, and through gloomy and dangerous 
swamps, where the troops, though little encumbered with bag- 
<raire, could advance but slowly, and with great fatigue. Under 
all these dit1icuhie!«, the spirits of the soldiers were sustained by 
the presence and example of their favorite commander — who ani- 
mated them in their fatigues, and cheerfully endured the same 
hardships and privations which they encountered. 

The autumn and early part of the winter were spent in active 
and laborious preparations for the approaching summer campaign ; 
roads were cut, depots formed, forts built, and a few expeditions 
were sent out to protect our out-posts, and keep the enemy in 
check. One of these expeditions, consisting of a detachment of 
six hundred men, under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell, was sent 
by General Harrison against a fortified Indian village, from which 
i»ur troops had sulfered much annoyance. This enterprise was 



16 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

conducted with great skill and success. The village was attacked 
in the most gallant manner, and, afier a desperate action of more 
than an hour, was carried at the point of the bayonet. From the 
general order issued by Harrison, on the return of this expedition, 
we make the following extract, which will convey some idea of 
the humane and generous feelings, that have always characterized 
both his public and private conduct. After awarding these gallant 
troops the high meed of praise which their bravery had won, he 
goes on to say — "But the character of this gallant detachment, 
exhibiting as it did, perseverance, fortitude, and bravery, would, 
however, be incomplete, if, in the midst of victory, they had for- 
gotten the feelings of humanity. It is with the sincerest pleasure 
that the General has heard, that the most punctual obedience was 
paid to his orders, in not only saving all the women and children, 
but in sparing all the warriors who ceased to resist ; and that even 
when vigorously attacked by the enemy, the claims of mercy pre- 
vailed over every sense of their own danger, and this heroic band 
respected the lives of their prisoners. Let an account of murdered 
innocence be opened in the records of heaven, against our enemies 
alone. The American soldier will follow the example of his gov- 
ernment ; and the sword of the one will not be raised against the 
fallen and helpless, nor the gold of the other be paid for the scalps 
of a massacred enemy." What a contrast does these noble sen- 
ments present to the atrocious conduct of the British Gen- 
eral, Proctor — who, at the cruel massacre at Raisin River, and 
elsewhere, basely permitted unresisting prisoners of war to be 
butchered, by his savage allies, in cold blood. 

Late in the season the army went into winter quarters at their 
strongly fortified position on the banks of the Miami, near the rap- 
ids, which was called Camp Meigs, in honor of the patriotic gov- 
ernor of Ohio. Leaving the army at that station. General Harri- 
son proceeded to Cincinnati, to procure reinforcements of men, 
and supplies of provisions and military stores for the approaching 
campaign. But early in the spring, intelligence was received that 
the British were making active preparations, and concentrati? a 
large force of regular soldiers, Canadians, and Indians, to besiege 
Fort Meigs. On obtaining this information, General Harrison 
hastened to his camp, and exerted his most strenuous efforts, to 
prepare for this threatened attack of the enemy. His presence 
cheered the troops, and he inspired them with fresh ardour, on the 
approach of the enemy, by an eloquent address, in which he aK 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 17 

Hided modestly, but in the most animating manner, to the neigh- 
boriniT battle-field, where General Wayne had gained the brilliant 
victory of the Miami, and where he himself had won the brightest 
of his earlier laurels. 

On the 28th of April, 1813, the scouts brought in intelligence 
of the arrival of the enemy. On the same day, a strong force of 
British and Indians ascended the river in boats, and disembarked, 
partly on the south-eastern shore, and partly on the opposite side 
o( the river. Here they immediately commenced the construction 
of three powerful batteries. Corresponding traverses were made 
within the Fort, and every approach of the enemy was met and 
(oiled, with consummate pkill and bravery. 

On the fifst of May, the batteries of the enemy being completed, 
they opened a lieavy cannonadinpr, which was returned with equal 
vipor from the Fort, 'i'his cannonading was continued without in- 
termission for five days ; but owinp to the skillful dispositions of 
(ieneral Harrison, it wan attended with very little loss on either 
side. 

On the nth of May, a gallant reinforcement of Kenturkians, un- 
der (ieriend Clay, fouL'ht their way to the camp; and Harrison, 
availing himsell of this fortunate occurrence, promptly ordered a 
sortie to be made from the Fort to destr(»y the batteries of the 
enemy, The detachment ordered to this service, consisted of 
three hundred and fifty men, a part of whom were regulars, and 
the remainder volunteers and Kenturky militia, under the com- 
mand of Colonel Miller, of the United States army. These brave 
troops attacked a body of British regulars and 'ndians, of more than 
double their number ; but the impetuosity of their charge was ir- 
resistible, and after a severe struggle, they drove the enemy from 
the batteries. They spiked the cannon, took a large number of 
prisoners, and having fully accomplished that object, returned in 
triumph to the fort. This sortie was one of the most sanguinary 
and desperate actions fought during the whole war, and its bril- 
liant success was richly merited by the intrepid gallantry of the 
brave troops engaged in it. 

Another attack had, in the mean time, been made upon the Bri- 
tish batteries on the opposite side of the river. The enemy were 
taken bv surprise, and their batteries carried with great ease, but 
the result proved unfortunate. The detachment ordered to this 
service had received instructions fiom General Harrison, to return 
to the fort as soon as they had accomplished the object of the enter- 

B* 



18 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

prise — but unhappily, the new and inexperienced, though brave 
troops, that composed this detachment, instead of obeying their 
orders, imprudently lingered till they were entirely surrounded 
by the enemy; and many of them were cut to pieces, without the 
possibility of lending them any aid from the fort. Had the com- 
mands of their general been obeyed, this misfortune could not 
have occurred, and the day would have been one of unclouded 
success and triumph. 

Thwarted by the skillful dispositions of Harrison, and by the 
battle, or rather succession of battles, fought on the 5th, Proctor 
was compelled to abandon the siege of Fort Meigs; and on the 8th 
of May, he broke up his camp, and retreated in disappointment 
and disgrace. 

Thus terminated the glorious defence of Fort Meigs. Harrison 
soon after left General Clay in command of that important post, 
and, unwearied in his exertions, proceeded to more difficult and 
arduous duties, at other exposed stations. 

The unceasing efforts of the British, and the restless spirit of 
Tecumseh, allowed our troops but little time to recover from their 
severe fatigues. In less than two months after the siege of Fort 
Meigs had been abandoned, the Indians assembled a formidable 
body of more than five thousand warriors, under their most noted 
chiefs, and again threatened an attack on that fortress. On receiv- 
ing this intelligence, General Harrison, with a small body of reg- 
ulars, hastened to Fort Meigs, by forced marches, and fortunately 
arrived there before the enemy. Leaving a reinforcement with 
General Clay, he returned. without delay to his more active duties. 

During the whole of this interesting campaign, the vigilance and 
intrepidity of General Harrison, with the bravery of his soldiers, 
enabled him to keep a far superior force of the enemy in check, 
and to protect the wide extent of our exposed frontier. Our forts 
were ably defended, and our troops gallantly repelled every at- 
tack of the enemy, and in some few instances, where they were 
assailed by an overwhelming force. 

At about the period when the enemy invested Fort Meigs for the 
second time, they made a desperate attack on Fort Stephenson, a 
temporary depot at Lower Sandusky, which was bravely and suc- 
cessfully defended by Major Croghan, of the regular service. We 
particularly mention this event in the campaign, as a noble action 
worthy of note, and because we wish to advert to the illiberal and 
unjust remarks, which have been made by some of General Harris 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 19 

son's political enemies, in relation to the defence of this fort, and 
the subsequent measures of the commandei-in-chief. At the date 
of this attack on Fort Stephenson, the enemy had nearly seven 
thousand men in the field — two thousand of whom were British 
regulars and Canadians, and the remainder were warriors of the 
fiercest Indian tribes. The army under General Harrison was 
greatly inferior in numbers, and it became his duty as a skillful 
commander, to withdraw his unimportant outposts, to avoid risk- 
ing unnecessarily the loss of a single soldier, and to enable him, 
by concentrating his forces, to hold the enemy in check at least, 
if he should not prove strong enough to give him batde. Fort 
tStephenson was a tempordry and unimportant station, and so com- 
manded by the high ground in its neighborhood, as to be utterly 
indefensible against heavy artillery — and such, from their com- 
mand of the lake, the British could easily transport to its attack. 
Fully aware of this, from having reconnoiiered the ground in per- 
son, Gen. Harrison, on learning that this station was about to 
be assailed, thought it proper to withdraw the garrison. He ac- 
cordingly dispatched an order to Major Croghan, directintr him to 
abandon Fort JStcphenson, and repair, if practicable, to Head Quar- 
ters — which were then at Seneca Town, nine miles further up the 
river. This order was not received by Major Croghan until the 
following day — when flying parties of the Indians became so nu- 
merous rounil the fort, that, as Croghan himself stated, it was too 
late to carry the order into execution, and he decided on maintain- 
ing the place. In consequence of this disobedience of orders. 
Colonel Wells wxs immediately sent, with a strong escort of cav- 
alry, to take command of Fort Stephenson, and Croghan was or- 
dered to repair forthwith to Head Quarters. But on his arrival 
there, he made such satisfactory explanations to the commander- 
in chief, of the situation of the fort, and of his own respectful in- 
tentions, that (icneral Harrison at once reinstated him in his com- 
mand, lie returned to his duties the following morning, and on 
the same dav, Julv 31st, this station was invested by a force of 
thirteen hundred British regulars and Indians. They attacked the 
fort with great vigor, and repeatedly attempted to take it by as- 
sault — but they were each time defeated, and were at length forced 
to abandon their attempt, and retreat in confusion, having lost, in 
killed and wounded, nearly as many as the entire number of the 
gallant spirits who defended the fort. 

This delencc of a position, which General Harrison had order- 



20 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

ed to be abandoned, and the fact of his not having immediately 
advanced upon the enemy, were seized upon with avidity, by the 
ignorant and malicious among- his political opponents, who indus- 
triously circulated the falsest statements and most perverted mis- 
representations, relative to these occurrences. But fortunately, 
the plain truth soon became so well known, that General Harri- 
son's fair fame suffered no injury from these unfounded calum- 
nies. So many gallant officers as well as honorable and high 
minded men bore witness, of their own accord, to the military 
wisdom of his measures, that the stjgma, with which his calum- 
niators had endeavored to darken his unsullied reputation, only 
rebounded, to add a still deeper stain to their own. 

We lay before our readers the following short extracts from an 
address to the public, relative to this affair, which was volunta- 
rily published by the general, field, and staff officers of General 
Harrison's army. After expressing their "regret and surprise, that 
charges as improper in form as in substance, should have been 
made against Gen, Harrison, during the recent investment of 
Lower Sandusky," they go on and say: — "He who believes that 
with our disposable force, and under the circumstances which 
then occurred, General Harrison ought to have advanced upon 
the enemy, must be left to correct his opinion in the school of ex- 
perience. 

"On a review of the course then adopted, we are decidedly of 
the opinion, that it was such as was dictated by military wisdom, 
and by a due regard to our circumstances and to the situation of 
the enemy. * * * * And with a ready acquiescence, beyond 
the mere claims of military duty, we are prepared to obey a gen- 
eral, whose measures meet our most deliberate approbation, and 
merit that of his country." 

The chivalrous and noble spirited Croghan, who was one of 
the signers of the above address, about the same time published 
another paper on this subject, dated from Lower Sandusky, in 
which he says: "I have with much regret seen in some of the 
public prints such misrepresentations respecting my refusal to eva- 
cuate this post, as are calculated not only to injure me in the esti- 
mation of military men, but also to excite unfavorable impressions 
as to the propriety of Gen. Harrison's conduct relative to this 

affair. 

•"His character as a military man is too well established to need; 
my approbation or support. But his public service entitles him > 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 21 

at least to common justice. This afiair does not furnish cause of 
reproach. If public opinion has been lately misled respectmg his 
late conduct, it will require but a moment's cool, dispassionate 
reflection, to convince them of its propriety. The measures re- 
cently adopted by hirn^ so far from deserving censure, are the 
clearest proofs of his keen penetration and able generalship ^ 

We have dwelt on this passage in the life of General Harrison, 
somewhat longer than is consisient with the brevity of this sketch; 
but the political opponents of General Harrison can find so few 
points in his whole life, that aflord thom the slightest apology for 
censure, that thev have been driven to pervert and misrepresent 
an afl'air of so simple a nature as this, and one that, in truth, enti- 
tled him, as the g^allant Ooghan justly says, to the highest com- 
mendation. We have therefore thouirht it no more than common 
justice to him and to our readers, to lay before them this plain ex- 
position of facts. 'I'hc wisest and best actions are often misunder- 
stood or perverted by the ignorant or the malicious. We trust 
and believe that the former c:)nsti»ntc the larger portion of those 
who have souijht to shadow the fair fame of General Harrison; 
hut while mean and sordid ppirits exi«;t, envy and detraction will 
:Jwav8 pursue exalted merii. Kvcn Washineton, the Father of 
our country, was intrigued :i<::iinst a!)d calumniated. 

Disappointed in their hopen of plunder, and dispirited by the 
numerous defeats thev had su!>tained, the savage allies of the Hri- 
lish had become discontented: the second siege of Fort Meigs had 
been abandoned, and gradually the enemy entirely withdrew from 
our territory, and concentrated their forces at Maiden, their prin- 
cipal sironLdiold in Fpper Canada. It will thus be seen, that the 
skill with which Gen. Harrison had conducted his defensive ope- 
rations, the only resource left him in the face of a superior foe, 
had been eminently successful; and had not only protected our 
widely extended frontier, but had eventually forced the enemy to 
retire, mortified and humbled by defeat, from our country. 

The activity and enterprize of General Harrison, did not long 
permit the enemy to rest, after their retreat from our territory. 
He immediately commenced preparations for carrying the war 
into their own country, and formed his plan for the capture of 
Maiden, and the concjuest of Upper Canada. 

Commodore I*erry had been instructed to co-operate with Gen- 
<tral Harrison, with the fleet under his command, and by a happy 
coincidence, that gallant hero gained his glorious victory on Lake 



22 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

Erie, and captured the entire squadron of the enemy just about 
the time when General Harrison had matured his plans for the 
invasion of Canada. 

On the 27th of September, the troops embarked at Sandusky- 
Bay, and advanced towards Maiden, expecting to find the British 
and Indians encamped there in full force. But upon landing on 
the Canada shore, they found that Proctor, disheartened by his 
recent defeats, had abandoned that stronghold, after having de- 
stroyed the fort and navy yard, and had retreated with his regulars 
and savage allies to Sandwich. Our army encamped at Maiden, 
and the patriotic troops could not restrain their exultation, on hav- 
ing gained possession of the fortress from which had issued, for 
years past, those ruthless bands of savages, which had swept over 
our extended frontier, like the wing of the destroying angel, leav- 
ing death and destruction only in their path. 

Our army advanced rapidly in pursuit of the enemy, and over- 
took them on the 5th of October, at a place which is destined to 
be remembered, as the battle ground of one of the most remark- 
able and decisive actions fought during the war. 

General Proctor, having had his choice of ground, occupied a 
strong position, flanked on the left by the river Thames, and on 
the right by a swamp, beyond which were posted two thousand 
Indians, under Tecumseh. But Proctor committed an irretriev- 
able error, in placing his regular soldiers in open order, and ex- 
tending his line by placing the files at a distance of three or four 
feet from each other. 

The American army advanced in order of battle, and when in 
the immediate neighborhood of the enemy, the reconnoitering par- 
ties brought in intelligence of the dispositions Proctor had made. 
Harrison, with the rapid decision of an able general, instantly 
availed himself of the error of his opponent, and ordered Colonel 
Johnson to charge the enemy's line in column, with his regiment 
of mounted Kentuckians. The extended and weakened line of 
the enemy could ofl^er but a feeble resistance to the charge of these 
gallant troops; who dashed through their ranks with overwhelm- 
ing impetuosity, and formed and attacked them in the rear. Panic 
struck by this bold and unexpected manoeuvre, and at being as- 
sailed both in front and rear, the British threw down their arms 
in dismay, and the whole army was captured, with the exception 
of a few who escaped by an early flight with Proctor. The In- 
dians attacked our troops on the left, and fought with great fierce- 



* WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 23 

ness and daring, nniil their renowned >;hief Teeumseh was slain, 
as is supposed, by Colonel Johnson, when they fled from the 
conte3t. 

This decisive and important battle was thus fought and won, 
in a space of time almost incredibly short, and with a very trifling 
loss only on our side. All tlie baggage of the enemy, and their 
-valuable military stores, together with the official papers of Proc- 
tor, fell into our hands; and several pieces of brass cannon, which 
had been taken from the British in our revolutionary victories, but 
which Hull shamefully surrendered at Detroit, were again cap- 
tured from our ancient foe. 

The united force of the Hritish regulars and Indians engaged in 
this battle, amounted to more than 2800 — the number of our 
troops WHS less than 2.500 — and those were principally militia and 
volunteers. The venerable Governor Shelby commanded the 
Kentucky volunteers in this battle, and General Cass, the present 
fcjccretary of War, and the heroic Perry, acted as volunteer Aids to 
General Harrison. This fjrilliant victory, following up the cap- 
ture of their Heel on Lake p>ie by the gallant Perry, entirely de- 
stroyed the force of the enemy in Upper Canada, and put an end 
to the war on our northwestern frontier. 

On receiving the news of this glorious event, the thanks of Con- 
gress were expressed to (General Harrison in the warmest manner. 
Among many others, whose grateful feelings found utterance on 
this occasion, the Hon. Latiffdon Cheves observed, on the floor of 
Congress, — ♦'That the victory of Harrison was such as would 
have secured to a Roman general, in the best days of the Repub- 
lic, the honors of a triumph." A sentiment which was fully re- 
sponded to, in the complimentary notices which he received from 
every part of the Union. 

Having entirelv defeated the enemy in Upper Canada, General 
Harrison advanced with a j)art of his army, to the Niagara fron- 
tier, and thence to Sackelt's Harbor, where he left the troops and 
proceeded to the seat of government. On his way thither, he 
passed through New York and Philadelphia; in which cities he 
was received with the most flattering marks of public honor and 
-distinction. After the necessary delay of a few days at Washing- 
ton, (ienrral Harrison proceeded to Ohio, where important duties 
Tequire<l his presence. 

In the plan for the ensuing campaign, to the surprise and regret 
of the public, General Harrison was designated for a service, far 



^4 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF ' 

inferior to that which he had a right to expect. Regardless of 
the memorable victories which this gallant and experienced offi- 
cer had won, and unmindful of the various and important services 
which he* had rendered to his country, the Secretary of War saw 
fit to assign to him the command of a district, where he would 
be compelled to remain inactive, while others were appointed to 
those more arduous duties, which he had heretofore fulfilled with 
so much honor to himself, and to the nation. As if still unsatis- 
fied with this egregious insult which he had offered to General 
Harrison, the Secretary of War, on the 25th of April, 1814, ap- 
pointed a subordinate officer to a separate command within his 
district, and notified him to that effect. On the receipt of this no- 
tification, General Harrison instantly addressed a letter to the Se- 
cretary, tendering his resignation, with a notification thereof to the 
President. "As soon as Governor Shelby heard of the resigna- 
tion of General Harrison, he lost no time in addressing the Presi- 
dent in his usual forcible terms, to prevent his acceptance of it; 
but unfortunately for the public interests, the President was then 
on a visit to Virginia, to which place the letters from General 
Harrison and Governor Shelby were forwarded, and that of the 
latter was not received until after Secretary Armstrong, without 
the previous consent of the President, had assumed to himself 
the high prerogative of accepting the resignation. The President 
expressed his great regret that the letter of Gov. Shelby had not 
been received earlier, as in that case the valuable services of Gen- 
eral Harrison would have been preserved to the nation in the en- 
suing campaign." — (Dawson.) 

In this resignation. General Harrison evinced the true patriot- 
ism and disinterestedness which have always marked his con- 
duct. He would cheerfully have devoted his services to his coun- 
try, even in an appointment inferior to that which should have 
been assigned him — but he was too high principled to retain his 
rank, by yielding assent to a measure, which he considered to be 
subversive of military order and discipline; and though his own 
fortune had been shattered by the neglect of his private affairs, for 
the benefit of the public, yet he scorned to receive the pay and 
emoluments of his ofiice, when he was no longer permitted to 
perform its duties actively and honorably. 

It would be difficult, at this period, to trace out the true mo- 
tives that induced the Secretary or War to the unjustifiable course 
he pursued in this affair. But some knowledge of those events 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRIr^ON'. 25 

of the war in which he bore a part, Avith a little insight into hu- 
man nature, would suggest that the leading causes tvhich prompt- 
ed him, were the envy and jealousy, which a narrow minded man 
would naturally feel, on contrasting his own feeble eflbrts, and 
abortive attempts, with the consummate skill, tlie brilliant victo- 
ries, and the ahnost uniform successes of another. That he had 
acted in an arbitrary and unwarrantable manner, was afterwards 
clearly proved. — And in the investigation which took place in 
Contfress in the winter of 1816-17, it became so evident that 
(General Harrison had been treated with great injustice by the 
War Uepariment, that a resolution giving him a gold medal and 
the thanks of Congress, was passed, with but one dissenting voice 
in both houses of Congress. 

The leading events in the campaigns of 1812-13, the gallant 
defence of Fort Meiffs, and the decisive victory of the Thames, 
are lasting memorials of General Harrison's military genius. Yet, 
for these isolated actions, he deserves far less praise than for the 
nkillful operations and Fabian policy, which led to these and other 
successes. The prudent care and indefatigable exertions, by 
which he provided for hia army in a wild and devastated country; 
the promptness and unwearied activity, with which he met and de- 
feated the schemes of his antagonists — an d the admirable skill, 
with which lie held in check an enemy far superior in numbers, 
and with a small force protected an extended line of frontier, and 
guarded the lives and property of thousands of his fellow citi- 
zens — betokened a genius of the highest order, with a vigorous 
mind constantly on the alert. 

Soon after his resignation, in the summer of 1814, Mr. Madi- 
8on< evinced his unabated confidence in the abilities and integrity 
of (ien. Harrison, by appointing him to treat with the Indians, in 
conjunction with his old companions in arms, Gov. Shelby and 
(ien. Cass. And in the following year, he was placed at the head 
of another commission, appointed to treat with the iiorihwestcrn 
tribes. The advantageous treaties made in both these cases, af- 
forded new instances of the unfailing success, that has always at- 
tended Gen. Harrison's negotiations with the Indians. 

In 1816, he was elected, by a large majority, a member of the 
House of representatives in ('ongress, from Ohio. In this station 
he served, greatly to his own honor, and to the satisfaction of his 
constituents, until 1819, when; on tiie expiration of his term ol 
service, he was chosen to the Senate of the State Legislature, 
c 



26 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

In 1824, he was elected a Senator of the United States, from 
Ohio. While serving in this high station, he commanded univer- 
sal respect. His views as a statesman were liberal and extended; 
his remarkable readiness in debate soon rendered him a prominent 
member — and the nervous and impassioned eloquence, and clas- 
sical felicity of illustration, with which he enforced his arguments 
gained him much influence. 

In 1828, he was appointed by Mr. Adams Envoy Extraordi- 
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Columbia. 
He accepted this appointment, and repaired, without delay, to the 
scene of his duties, where he was received with every demonstra- 
tion of respect. He found this unhappy country in a deplorable 
condition — the people ignorant of their rights, and almost in a 
state ot anarchy, and Bolivar apparently about to assume the des- 
potic power of a military dictator. Shocked with this state ef 
things, with the frankness of an old soldier, he wrote his celebra- 
ted letter to Bolivar, from which, as we have not space for the 
M^hole letter, we take the liberty of quoting the following ex- 
tracts:— "I contend," said Gen. Harrison, "that the strongest of 
all governments is that which is most free. We consider that of 
the United States as the strongest, precisely because it is the most 
free. It possesses the faculties, equally to protect itself from for- 
eign force, or internal convulsion. In both it has been sufficiently 
tried. In no country on earth, would an armed opposition to the 
laws be sooner or more effectually put dow'n. Not so much from 
the terrors of the guillotine and the gibbet, as from the aroused de- 
termination of the nation, exhibiting their strength, and convincing 
the factious that their cause was hopeless." * * * * 

"In bestowing the palm of merit, the world has become wiser 
than formerly. The successful warrior is no longer regarded as 
entitled to the first place in the temple of fame. Talents of this 
kind have become too common, and too often used for mischiev- 
ous purposes, to be regarded as they once were. In this enlight- 
ened age, the mere hero Of the field, and the successful leader of 
armies, may, for the moment, attract attention. But it will be 
such as is bestowed on the passing meteor, whose blaze is no lon- 
ger remembered, when it is no longer seen. To be esteemed 
eminently great, it is necessary to be eminently good. The qual- 
ities of the hero and the general must be devoted to the advantage 
of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the title of their 
benefactor; and the station which he wili hold in their regard and 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 27 

affections will depend, not upon the number and splendor of his 
victories, but upon the results and the use he may make of the 
influence he acquires from them." 

"If the fame of 'our Washington depended upon his miliiary 
achievements, would the common consent of the world allow him 
the pre-eminence he possesses? The victories at Trenton, Mon- 
mouth, and York, brilliant as they were, exhibiting as they cer- 
tainly did, the highest grade of military talents, are scarcely 
thought of. The source of the veneration and esteem which is 
entertained lor his character, by every description of politicians, 
the monarchist and aristocrat, as well as the republican, is to be 
found in his undeviating and exclusive dcvotedness to the interest 
of his country. No selfish consideration was ever sufl'ered to in- 
trude itself into his mind. For his country he conquered; and the 
unrivaled and increasing prosperity of that country is constantly 
adding fresh glory to his nauje." 

We regret that our limits will not pennit us to insert the whole 
of this vigorous and beautiful production. But the few passages 
we have quoted, contain a fair specimen of the noble sentiments 
which characterize this letter, and give evidence of the pure repub- 
lican prim-iples, which have ever distinguished this eminent states- 
man. 

(Jeneral Harrison remained in Colombia hut a sliort time, hav- 
ing been rc(;allt'd by the present administration, soon after it rarae 
into power. 

Since his return from this mission, he has lived in comparative 
retirement, in Ohio, the State of his adoption. Willi the most 
enticing opportunities of accumulating wealth, during his long 
government of Indiana, and superintendence of Indian aflairs, he 
acquired none; his honest and scrupulous integrity was proof 
against the golden temptations. His time and best energies were 
devoted to the service of his country, and his own interests were 
ever, with him, a secondary consideration. He therefore retired 
without the spoils of office, and with only a competency barely 
sufficient for his support; but rich in a reputation undimmed by a 
single tarnish, and in the honor and respect of all his fellow citizens. 

General Harrison is now sixty-six years of age; but such has v 
been the activity and temperate habits of his past life, that he 
enjoys his moral and physical energies in remarkable vigor. In 
person he is tall and thin; his features are irregular, but his eyes 
are dark, keen and penetrating; his forehead is expansive; hig 



28 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF 

mouth peculiarly indicativeof firmness and genius; and his counte- 
nance is highly express! '/e of intelligence and benevolence. His 
manners are plain, frank, and unassuming, and his disposition is 
cheerful, kind, and generous, almost to a fault. In his private 
intercourse, he is beloved and esteemed by all who know him. 
In the various civil and military offices he has held, he has al- 
ways been moderate and forbearing, yet firm and true to his trust. 
No other commander has ever been more popular with our militia, 
and the true secret of this cannot be better explained than by his 
own reply, when asked how he gained this influence: "By treat- 
ing them," said he, "v/ith aflfection and kindness; by always recol- 
lecting that they were my fellov/ citizens, whose feelings I was 
bound to respect; and by sharing with them, on every occasion, 
the hardships which they were obliged to undergo." 

In the republican institutions of our country, birth and parent- 
age are comparatively of very little importance; and no candidate 
for public favor can found thereon the slightest claim to the res- 
pect or the support of his fellow citizens. We have liappily 
shaken ofl' the thralling prejudices of the old world, and a title 
to office and honorable distinction is not with us hereditary; but 
every man must earn his own good name, and his claim on the 
favor of the people, by his own good deeds. Yet, aware, as every 
one must be, of the powerful influence of early education, it is 
worthy of remark, as well as gratifying to know, that a candidate 
for public office, in whom we feel an interest, passed all the early 
years of his life with the brig-liest examples constantly before him; 
and under the parental tuition of one of those illustrious patriots, 
whose memory is revered by ever true American. It is pleasing 
to know, that his first political sentiments were imbibed in a school 
of the purest republican principles. And when we trace up the 
career of this individual, from the spring time of his youth, to the 
summer of his manhood and tc the early autumn of his years, and 
see those principles closely adhered to throughout, we can scarce- 
ly resist the conviction, that his future course will be consistent 
with the past; and that, with matured abilities, he will be still 
more conspicuous for his republican principles, his moderation in 
office, his firm integrity, and his extended and enlightened views 
as a statesman. Such were the early advantages of William 
Henry Harrison; such has been his course thus far through life; 
and such is now the bright promise, to a realization of which we 
may safely look forward, should the people see fit to place him 
in office. 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 29 

The friends of General Harrison found no claim on his military 
services. His own sentiments on this subject we have already 
quoted; and his friends would scorn, as much as he would, any at- 
tempt to dazzle a single one of his fellow citizens by the glory of his 
military renown, brilliant though it be. They would point rather 
to his numerous civil services, in the forty years he has devoted 
to his country; to the various and important offices he has so ably 
iilled; in The territorial governments, in the Legislature of his own 
State, and in the House of Representatives and Senate of the Uni- 
ted States; and to the high order of abilities displayed in his 
speeches in (congress, in his j)ublic acts, and in his voluminous 
public correspondence. And we here take occasion to say, thai 
all liis letters and public papers have been exclusively written by 
himself; and that so far from his having called in the mental aid 
of another, to prepare his messages and dispatches, as some of 
our distinguished men have condescended to do, he has never 
even employed an amanuensis, to perform the manual labor of his 
correspondence. His ruling principles throngh 'life, appear to 
have been, an ardent love for his country, and an earnest desire 
to serve her best interests; with a devotion to the pure republican 
maxims of the Kovolution, always unwavering and consistent: 
unlike the scheming politicians of a more modern school, whose 
own interest is the polar star that guides them, whatever may be- 
tide their country. 

With tried patriotism, with abilities of the highest order, with 
integrity pure as the unsullied snow, and with the truest republi- 
can principles, William Henry Harrison is now before his fellow 
citizens, :is a c:uididatc for the highest office in their gift. In the 
long course of his public life, he has always been a staunch advo- 
cate of pfjpular rights, and is therefore truly the candidate of the 
people. He comes before them, not with a crowd of pampered 
and still-grasping officials to intrigue and bribe for hmi, but with 
the noble frankness of an honorable and high-minded man, willing 
and desirous to be judged impartially by his fellow citizens, and 
ready to abide by their honest decision. 
c* 



APPENDIX. 



The following correspondence was called out in consequence 
of remarks relative to the character and conduct of General Har- 
rison, made by members of the House of Representatives of the 
State of Ohio, in their places on the floor of that House. A letter 
was addressed to each of the gentlemen, whose replies are given 
below, by a member of the House who heard the remarks, stat- 
ing their substance, and requesting from each a statement of the 
facts which fell within his personal knowledge, respectively. The 
high character of the gentlemen whose statements have thus been 
obtained, (one of whom has been a uniform and prominent sup- 
porter of the last and present Administrations of the General Gov- 
ernment,) is such as to put the facts to which they bear testimony, 
entirely beyond doubt. 



Washington, Ky., 24th Feb., 1840. 
Dear Sir, — Your letter of the 17th inst. reached me to-day by 
the Southern mail, marked " mis-sent, forwarded." This will 
account for your not having my answer at an earlier day. You 
have been correctly informed that " I was in the battle of the 
Thames, and near the person of General Harrison, from the com- 
mencement to the termination of the engagement, and that I per- 
sonally know what part General Harrison took in it." I had the 
honor to act as a volunteer Aid-de-camp to General Harrison, dur- 
ing the active operations of that campaign ; and was at no time 
more than five minutes out of sight of him, on the day of the bat- 
tle, until after the surrender of the British Army, and retreat of the 
Indians, You say, " It has been avowed on the floor of the House 
of Representatives ( of Ohio ) now in session by members in their 
places, that General Harrison was at no time in the battle, nor 
within two miles of the battle ground ; that the entire plan of opera- 
tion was projected by Col. R. M. Johnson ; that he led the troops 
on to conquest, and that General Harrison had neither part or lot 
in the matter." From the reckless character of the attacks made 
upon General Harrison, through the prostituted and pensioned 
press devoted to the support of the present administration, it is not 
surprizing that that portion of its supporters, who read nothing else 
but the papers devoted to the re-election of Mr. Van Buren and 
abuse of General Harrison, should make such statements ; but that 
a member of a legislative body, who from his station ought to be 



APPENDIX. 31 

a man of information, and a gentleman, should be so ignorant of 
the history of one of the most important battles of the late war, or 
so utterly regardless of truth, as to make such a statement, is truly 
astonishing. Every member of your Legislature has, I presume, 
read General Harrison's olhcial account of the battle of the Thames: 
and wanton and unprincipled as have been the misrepresentations 
of General Harrison's military character and conduct, I have now, 
(after a lapse of upwards of twenty-six years,) for the first time 
heard the intimation that his account of it was in anv particular 
untrue. In that paper. General Harrison states correctly the posi- 
tion he occupied at the commencement of the action ; and he might 
have Slated, with equal truth, that he in person gave the word of 
command to the mounted Regiment to " charge :" and that he ad- 
vanced with it, uiitd it received the enemy's tire, and then passed 
rapidly to the left, where the Indians still obstinately maintained 
the fight. Such, sir, I aver to be the facts, and feel perfectly con- 
fident that General Cass ( who was in the battle ), and General 
Harrison's otiier Aids-de-camp, will unhesitatingly sustain me in 
the stat<!ment; and it happens liial they are all yet alive. One 
of them, ('ol. John O'Fallon, resides at St. Louis, Missouri; and 
the olliers. Cols. ( 'harles S. Todd, and John Speed Smith, at Shel- 
byville and Richmond, in this State. As to the sLilement, that 
'• the entire plan of operations was projected by Col. Johnson,*' it 
is like tlie charge that (ienoral Harrison was at no time in the bat- 
tle, nor witliin two miles of the battle ground, ful.sr, ntterlif falst . 
The idea of charging the enemy with the mounted men, w:iij ex- 
clusively (ieneral Harriscjn's. I was present when he first an- 
nounced it, and know that Col. Johnson waalhen at the head of his 
command, and was not consulted on the subject, until aftiT Gen- 
eral Harrison had expressed his determination to make the charge : 
and if It is intended to state, that the operations of the campaign, 
or the order of battle, was projected by Col. Johnson, it is equally 
untnie ; and I am very confident that he has not and never will 
give the slighicst sanction to such statements, as vou sav have 
been made by members of your House of Representatives. 

You have my permission, sir, to make such use of this letter 
ai you may think proper. 

Resj>ectfullv, vour obt. serv't. 

JOHN CHAMRERS. 



ff'anhins^ton, 2Sth Feb., 1840. 
Dear Sir, — Since writing to you, in answer to your letter of 
the 17th inst., it has occurred to me that a principal object of the 
falsehoods, relative to General Harrison, which have found propa- 
gation on the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives, must bt 
to make the impression that he is a coivard : and tho' you do not 
state in your letter, the cause assigned by his slanderers for his 
alledged absence from the command of his army at the battle of the 



32 APPENDIX. 

Thames, I presume no motive for it less charitable than sheer 
cowardice 'would have been imputed by one capable of such mis- 
representation of his conduct. But whatever may be the alledged 
inducement for the conduct attributed to him, the relation in which 
I then stood to him, and my knowledge of what his actual conduct 
was, imposes on me the duty I have performed, of pronouncing the 
charge false ; and I trust you will pardon me for suggesting the 
propriety, ( if an appropriate occasion presents itself, or can be 
made in open session, ) of demanding of the members of your 
House, who haveinade the charge, the authority upon which they 
made it ; whether from their own knowledge or observation, or 
upon the information of others ; and if upon the information of 
others, their names and residence. The original inventors of the 
falsehood ought to have the advantage of all the celebrity it is cal- 
culated to give them. 

On the subject of General Harrison's personal bravery, is it not 
very remarkable, if he is a coward, that none of the gallant officers 
or soldiers who served with him under General Wayne, or those 
who fought under his command at Tippecanoe, at Fort Meigs and 
the Thames, discovered his cowardice; and that the discovery 
should have remained to be made by some scurvy politician of the 
present day? for I will venture to predict, that no officer, or sol- 
dier, of respectability, who served with him or under his command, 
can be found to "take the responsibility" of charging him with 
cowardice. In connection with this subject, permit me to relate a 
fact, which occurred in my presence, and which is calculated to 
give some idea of the character of General Harrison's pretensions 
to firmness and disregard of personal danger : On the day preced- 
ing the battle of the Thames, when his army approached the last 
right-hand fork of the river, (called, I think, MacGregor's fork,) 
General Harrison, accompanied by Commodore Perry and his Aids- 
de-camp, rode forward to examine the bridge which crossed the 
mouth of the stream, and which the enemy had partially destroyed ; 
ai d while viewing it, several hundred Indians, (under the com- 
mand of Tecumsey as we learned afterwards) who were concealed 
at some cabins called Chatham, and in the bushes on the opposite 
side of the stream, commenced a brisk fire upon the little party 
in the midst of which General Harrison was. At that moment a 
dismounted company of Col Johnson's Regiment, commanded by 
Capt. Benjamin Warfield, who now resides in the neighborhood of 
Lexington, in this State, came up ; the fire of the Indians was so 
severe, as to induce the gallant Perry to expostulate earnestly with 
General Harrison against the exposure of his person to such a fire 
when no good could result from it : but the General coolly replied, 
that he could no; set the example of retiring from the fire of the 
enemy. The Artillery came up in a few minutes, and opened' 
a fire upon the cabins, about which the Indians were concealed,, 
and Capt. Warfield, crossing with his company upon thetimbers- 
of the bridge to charge them, they ran off. 

Respectfully, your obt. servt., JOHN CHAMBERS. 

MosES B. CoRwiN, Esq., Columbus, Ohio. 



APPENDIX. 33 



St. Iritis, Feb. 2G/A, 1840. 

Hon. Moses B. CorwiN: Sir, — Your fiivor of the 17th inst. is 
ju8t received, and I lose no time in giving it acknowledgment. 
Vou request me to communicate the information I possess in rela- 
tion to the military conduct of General Harrison at the battle of the 
Thames, the arrangements for the battle, the position of the troops, 
us well as of the General, during tlje engagement, together with 
any other knowledge I have touching his military- character. 

In replv, I submit the following statement : At the battle of the 
Thames, Col. Charles S. Todd, afterwards Inspector General of 
iJic North-western Army, and myself, were the regular Aids-de- 
camp of General Harrison. Majors John Chambers and John 
Speed Smith, were the volunteer Aids. The battle, as is well 
known, took place on the right bank of the river Thames, near the 
Moravian village. A short distance from this place, and whilst our 
troops were in rapid pursuit of the iMiemy, General Harrison re- 
ceived information from an advanced party, that the Hritisli aid 
Indian forces had hallnl, and seemed to be awaiting us for battl?. 
When within half a milo of the enemy, after the American forces 
were formed in the order of battle, (ien. Trotter's brigade in fron*.; 
•Col. Paul's remilars. with tlie artilh-ry, near his right; Col. John- 
son*s mounted HcLMment on the left of Trotter as a n-serve, and 
the residue of the Kentucky VoluntC'Ti? covering the left flank and 
rear; Col. Wood of the Kngineer Corps, who by order of General 
Harrison, had approached, unobservetl by tb' ni. •'tifljciently near 
the frontline of the enemy to acceriain their j >n nnd the order 

in winch they were drawn up, reported that the Hritish 'I'roops, in 
order to occupy the high gmund between the river and the swamp 
])arallel to it, were drawn up in extended, or open order between 
these points ; the Indians, on their right, occupying the swamp and 
ground beyond it. General Harrison, without one moment's de- 
lay or the .slightest embarrassment, formed his purpose. I waf 
within a fw ffet of him, when the report of Col. Wood was made; 
and he in.stanfli/ renuirked that he would make a novel movement 
by orderini; ('ol. Johnson's mounted rejiment to c/ian^e the line 
ofthr British ICea^ftlars ; which thus drawn up, contrnry to the 
habits and usage f>f that description of troops, always accustomed 
to the touchy could l)e easily penetrated and thrown into confusion 
by the spirited charge of C«)l. Johnson's IJeiriment. With a view 
to this intended charije. Col. Johnson's commniul was ordered to 
the front, support ed in his rear as a reserve by Gen. Trotter's Bri- 
gade. I know that all the arrangements, and every movement of the 
troops during the battle, were made by the order of General Har- 
rison, whose position at the commencement of the action was just 
in rear of Col. Johnson's command, and mainly ofterwards near 
the crotchet formed by the junction of Johnson's left, with the 
Kentucky Vohinteers, drawn up on the ed2"e and in front of the 
fjwamp; a position considered by all as the most exposed and 



34 APPENDIX. 1 

dangerous tvithin the lines of our army, and where the battle was 
warmly contested by the Indians, until they discovered the surren- 
der of the whole British regular force : the happy result of the 
novel and skillful movement, most gallantly perfoimed by Col. 
Johnson and his brave associates ; but conceivedy planned and 
directed by General Harrison, whose superior military judgment 
and ready skill neither needed nor received any aid. 

After the return of the Army to Detroit, that brave veteran, that 
just, good and pure citizen, the late Gov. Shelby, on hearing read 
General Harrison's report of the battle, remarked in |my presence j 
and with much emphasis, that the report did him (Gov. Shelby) ' 
more than justice, and that to General Harrison alone was due the 
credit of the order of battle, the ivhole of the arrangements and 
plans which he (Gov. S.) had contributed to carry out to the best 
of his abilities. 

J At the commencement of the battle of Tippecanoe, when the 
m&\ gun was fired at our advanced picket, I was at the tent of j 
General Harrison, who was then up at the fire. I had an oppor- 
tunity to observe his manner ; he was cool and collected, and every 
movement of his countenance, and every word he uttered at that 
trying moment, perhaps the most embarrasinir in the life of a soldier 
denoted the highest order of personal courage. He mounted his 
horse instantly, and accompanied by his staff, hastened in the di- 
rection of the line first attacked. A part of this line, unable to 
withstand the fierce and desperate onset of the Indians, the Gen- 
eral met retirinor within our lines in some disorder and confusion, 
closely pressed by the Indians, some of whom were in the midst 
of them. General Harrison led in person a company of the 4th 
Infantry to the breach; and such was the effect of his bold and 
iearless behaviour, and so great was the confidence of his army in 
his ability to conduct them to victory, that his presence and voice 
at once rallied the retreating detachment, and they took position 
at a point equally exposed, where half of their number, if not 
more, were either killed or wounded. The battle commenced at 
about 3 o'clock in the morning, during a slight rain, and the attack 
became general within five minutes afterwards, and continued until 
the dawn of day; when by an almost general cliarge, the Indians 
broke and fled before our bayonets. The Dragoons afterwards 
proceeded to their village and burnt it. During the battle, General 
Harrison was seen whei*ever danger was the most imminent, wher- 
ever the fight was the thickest. His Aid, Col. Owen, was killed 
at his side, and almost at the same moment a ball passed through 
the GeneraFs hat, grazing his head. There was not a spot within _ 
our lines secure from the shot of the enemy. On this, as on every 
other occasion within ray observation, General Harrison's conduct 
was that of a brave, and skilful commander ; always calm and cool 
in his manner, and wholly indifferent to his personal safety, pos- 
sessing the peculiar faculty of at once discerning whatever was 
wanting, and of promptly applying the remedy. A single instant 
of vascillation or uncertainty of purpose; the slightest tremor of 



APPENDIX. 36 

nerve or hesitaiion in mind, in the critical and appalhng periods of 
the battle, would have been disastrous to his army. After the ac- 
tion, there seemed to be a universal admission by the officers and 
soldiers of the army, that there was not another officer in the battle, 
capable of having prevented a defeat and general massacre. All 
seemed to regard General Harrison as their deliverer from the In- 
dian scalpiiiL^ knife. 

Accordini: lo my best recollections, Fort Meigs was cannonaded, 
dav and niglit, with but little intermission for about eleven days. 
iShordv after its commencement, Major Chambers, of the British 
Anny, was admitted into the stockade, the bearer from General 
Proctor of an invitition to surrender the garrison with the honors 
of war, on the ground that so small a force, about 1. ()()() men, could 
not sustain themselves against four times their m/mher, the es- 
timated Hriti!<ii and Indian force. General Harrison at once rejected 
indignantly this proposition, replying to tlu' insult in terms worthy 
of his high character. Both day and night, during the siege. Gen- 
eral Harrison was most active, observing every movement of the 
enemy, and evincing his usual coolness, dauntless courage, and his 
happy readiness to perceive and apply every incident to his advan- 
tage. He succeeded in accomplishing every plan and movement 
where his orders ?vere ofjeyed. I recollect not one instance to the 
contrary. The detaciinuiit under C'(d. Dudley, etfected, in part, 
the obj(;ct intended, in driving the British Tniops from LJjcir posi- 
tion ; but they disobeyed orderH in not spiking the enemy's can- 
non, destroying their ammunition, and thereu|)on immediately 
recrossing the rivei to the main army. 'Die two sorties on the 
south side of the river, and on the s;une day, planned and executed 
under ord(;rs from General Harrison, were eminently successful, 
resulting in the objects designed, forcing the British to raise the 
sieire of Fort Meiirs. Tliat condueied bv the brave and accom- 
plished officer, then Col. John Miller, now a Hepresentativc in 
Congress from Missouri, intended to destroy a sunken battery, 
that had annoyed us very seriously, by enfilading our rear line of 
pickets, as well as to prevent the almost entire Indian force, then 
investing the fort on that side of the river, from co-operating with 
the Britisli nffainst Dudley's attack, made at the same lime, on the 
opposite side, considering the very great disparity between our 
force and that of the enemy, beinij as four to one, was, I must 1>€ 
allowed to say, one of the most brilliant alfairs of the Inst war. 

Gen. Winchester's movement to the river Kaisin, where he was 
defeated, was in disobedience of (general Harrison's order, wliich 
required him to proceed to the Kapids of the Maumee of the Lakes, 
and to remain there for further orders. 

I have extended my remarks beyond what I designed, wheii I 
commenced, but you will perceive my object was to give a full and 
satisfactory answer to your interrogatories. 1 aver, that on every 
oerasjoti, when General Harrison commanded, he ever disre<^arded 
personal danirer and sacrifice, in the performance of duty, exhibit- 
ing all the fine qualities of a dauntless soldier, combined with those 



36 APPENDIX. 

of a talented, skillful, and most able General. Why, at this remots 
period, when death has swept away so many memorials of Gen- 
eral Harrison's intrepidity and excellence, should the poisoned 
spirit of political envy, attempt thus to tarnish the liard earned 
laurels of the veteran soldier, who, in public, as in private life, 
has hved " ivlthout fear and without reproachV 

This, Sir, is what I have to say of General Harrison. I doubt 
whether there is another living who has possessed equal opportuni- 
ties with myself, of forming a correct opinion of General Harri- 
son's military character. I served under him the greater part of 
the period he was in active service, near his person ; commencing 
with the Tippecanoe expedition, and continuing*to its termination ; 
rejoining his army in the fall of 1812, at Franklinton, Ohio, where, 
immediately on my arrival, 1 became a member of his military fami- 
ly, as Secretary: In the winter of 1812 and 1813, was appointed his 
Acting Deputy Adjutant General ; and in May 1813, immediately 
after the siege of Fort Meigs his Aid-de-camp, which station I held 
to the close of his military service. And in conclusion, I can 
safely say, that I never in my life, saw a braver man in battle, one 
more collected, prompt and full of resources, than General William 
Henry Harrison. 
I have the honor to be, with great respect, your most obt. servt. 

J. O'FALLON. 



\ 



Cincinnati^ 29th February, 1840. 

Dear Sir,' — Your letter, of the 17th inst., was forwarded, under 
cover, to Major Chambers, at Washington, Kentucky, and sent 
by him to my residence after I left home, which must be my 
iipology for the delay of this answer. 

I can state that you have been correctly informed that "I was in 
he battle of the Thfimes, and near the person of General Harrison, 
"rom the commencement to the termination of the engagement, 
^nd that I personally know what part General Harrison took in 
it." I was a Captain in the army of the United States, and had 
the honor to act as a regular Aid-de-Camp to Gen. Harrison, during 
the active operations of the campaign, after the capture of the Brit- 
ish fleet; and was by his side in the battle of the Thames, with 
the exception of the time when, after the capture of the British 
troops, he directed me to proceed to Gov. Shelby, and order him 
to bring up Simrall's Regiment and reinforce that portion of John- 
son's Regiment and the left of Trotter's Brigade, which was pressed 
by the Indian force. 

You say "it has been openly avowed on the floor of the House 
of Representatives of Ohio, now in session, by members in their 
places, that General Harrison was at no time in the battle, nor 
within two miles of the battle ground; that the entire plan of opera- 
tions was projected by Col. R. M. Johnson ; that he led the troops 
to conquest, and that General Harrison had no part or lot in the 

B 



APPENDIX-. 37 

matter." From my personal knowledge of the plan and events of 
that battle, I have no hesitation in stating, that these declarations in 
relation to General Harrison's position and conduct in that battle, 
are destitute of any foundation in truth. General Harrison hap 
correctly stated, in his report to the War Department, the position 
he occupied just before the con.mencement of the action; and 
he might have added, that he in person gave the word of command 
to the mounted Regrimenl to "charge" — he having, with his Aids- 
rle-Camp, passed from the right of the front line of infantry, to 
the riirht of the front of the mounted column, and not only ordered 
the charge to be made by pronouncing tlie word, but called upon 
his Aids to repeat and pass the word along the line. I was close 
by his side, and he was so near the enemy, that their fire cut down 
the leaves and twio^s of the trees just above our heads. 

As soon as the British troops had surrendered, and after I had 
been sent to Gov. Shelby with the order already adverted to. 
General Harrison passed to the point where the Indians were an- 
noying the left, and personally directed tlie operations in that 
(juarter, lo the close of the action. I met (Jov. Shelby, brinjinf 
up SimraiPs Rcijiment, he having anticipated the (icncrars wishes 
as to that movement. In this way, (iov. Shelby and General Har- 
rison wilh his Aidn, met at the point where the Indians had made 
their most desperate effort, and from which they soon after re- 
treated. 

'['he first arrangement for the battle, as well as the subsequent 
change, which was predicated upon the important information ob- 
tained by the militani rye of Cnl. Wood, was planned alone by 
General Harrison. The execution of this subsequent plan, wab 
ronfidc^l to the lit^eiment commanded by (V)l. H, M. Johnson, 
who led in person the *2d Hattnlion, aided by Major Thompson ; 
which, ill its extension to the left, brought some portion of it in 
contact with the Indian line. The 1st Battalion was led bv Lt. 
Co\. James Johnson, aided by Major Payne. This Battalion, 
lo the rifjiit of the front of which Genenil Harrison and his staff 
advanced, and where he personally tfave the word "chartje," cap- 
tured the British line, and having thus turned the Indian left, dr- 
cidcd the fate of the day. 

Yoti are at liberty to make such use of this letter as you 
may think proper. 

Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, 

C. S. TODD. 

MosES B. CoRwiN, Esq. 

Houae of Representatives, Columbus, Ohio. 



Richmond, March 6, 1840. 
Sir, — Your letter of the 17th ult. was received on yesterday, in 
which you slate, that ♦* it has been openly avowed that (general 
Harrison wa.s at no time in the battle of the Thames, nor withirt 

D 



38 APPENDIX. 

two miles of the battle ground — that the entire plan of operations 
was projected by Col. R. M.Johnson — that he led the troops on 
to conquest, and that General Harrison had no part nor lot in the 
matter." My humiliation is deep, that a necessity should exist, 
produced by party rancor, to prove facts attested by history for 
more than a quarter of a century, and which have never before 
been questioned. That ignorance and credulity abound to an ex- 
tent, to render such baseless assertions available, bespeaks a la- 
mentable state of public intelligence, and portends no good to the 
republic. 

That Col. Johnson led the van, and brought on the battle, is true; 
that he behaved with the utmost gallantry, is also true : but your 
letter contains the first suggestion which has ever reached me, that 
"the entire plan of operations was projected by him." The 
magnanimity of Colonel Johnson, will repudiate, with proud in- 
dignation, such an effort to cluster additional laurels upon his 
brow, thus unjustly torn from the brow of his General. Colonel 
Johnson received orders, as to the form and manner of charge, from 
General Harrison in person, in the face and almost in sight of 
the enemy. The General was with the Regiment when the charge 
was sounded. As Johnson moved to the charge, the General 
started for the line of Infantry, which was drawn up in order of bat- 
tle. He had not gone far, before turning to me, (and to the best of 
my recollection, I was the only one of his Aids then with him,) he 
said, "Pursue Col. Johnson with your utmost speed — see the ef- 
fect of his charge, and the position of the enemy's Artillery, and 
return as quickly as possible." Having executed this order as 
promptly as practicable, I met him on my return, pressing forward 
with the front of the infantry. Upon reporting, that Col. Johnson 
had broke the enemy's line — that they were surrendering, and that 
their cannon was in our possession — he exclaimed, in an animated 
tone, "Come on my brave fellows, Proctor and hi^ whole army will 
soon be ours." Soon after this, an officer, yl believe the late Judge 
John McDowell, of Ohio,) rode up and reported, that the left wing, 
at or near the crotchet, was suffering severely, and in great disorder. 
This communication was made in the hearing of the soldiers. — 
The Geaeral contradicted the latter part of the statement in the 
most emphatic manner — but giving order to the nextjn command 
to push forward, he dashed with the messenger to the indicated 
point of conflict and confusion, and found the contest pretty close 
and severe. A portion of Johnson's Regiment, owing to the im- 
practicability of the ground for horse, had dismounted, and was 
fighting on foot and mingled with the infantry — which had been, 
to some extent, the cause of the confusion. Order was soon re- 
stored, and the left wing closed to the front, (which formed the 
crotchet,) under the personal supervision of General Harrison. In 
the mean time, some of our soldiers were shot within less than 
ten feet of the General; for the conflict here was sharp and ani- 
mated, and continued so for some time. With the exception of the 
charge made by Col. Johnson's Regiment, General Harrison was 
in the most exposed and dangerous parts of the battle. 



APPENDIX. 39 

It is due to the occasion to relate the following incident: The 
day bet'ore the battle, the army was impeded in its march by the 
destruction of a bridge across a branch of the Thames, up which 
it was moving, at ornear the mouth of the branch. Col. Johnson 
had been ordered to cross this stream at some mills, two or three 
miles above ihe mouth. The road led him by the bridge. A por- 
tion of his regiment had a brush wiih'a party of Indians, posted in 
cabins, on the opposite side of the Tliames and the branch, and 
also under the thick covert along their banks, to dispute the passage 
of the stream, and harass all attempts to repair the bridge. As soon 
as tiie firing was heard, the General hurried to the scene of action, 
accompanied by a portion of his family, of which Commodore 
Perry was one. When I arrived, I found General Harrison, Com- 
modore Perry and oilier officers, (1 think General Cass was one,) 
in an open piece of ground, near the bridge. Col. Johnson had 
passed, and a small porii(»ii of his Hcgiment, previously dismount- 
ed, under the commando! Caj)t. Benjamin Warfield, and some In- 
fantry which had hurried up, were carningon the skirmish. Maj. 
Wood had been ordered up with a small piece of artillery. Com- 
modore Perrv urged General Harrison to withdraw, as he was too 
much exposed for the Commander-in-Chief. If I mistake not. 
Gen. CasH united with the Commodore, and offered to remain and 
see his orders executed. The (ieneral, with Perry and the residue 
of his suit, started ofl*; hut General Harrison went but a few steps 
and returned, and retained hi»« position near the cannon, until the 
Indians were di^lodired and driven, the bridge repaired, and the 
army put in motion to cross. During this whole time he was as 
much or more exposed than the soldiers, being on horseback all the 
while. The Commodore afterwards remonstrated with him ajjainst 
this unnecessary exposure, observing, "Uiat in open sea he could 
stand fire tolerably well, hut there was no fun in being shot at by 
a concealed enemy. 'I'lie General justified his conduct by saying 
**the general who commands Republican volunteertj, m whose ranks 
the best blood of the ccuintrv is to be found, must never think of 
his own safety, at least until his troops become familiar with his 
disreaaril of personal danirer." Hardihood itself has never denied 
Perry's couracre. Chambers and Todd of Kentucky, and O'Fal- 
lon of Missouri, the other Aids of Cieneral Harrison at the battle 
of the 'I'hames, are still living, and can give you additional facts, 
if recjuired. 

Although it is not in direct response to any part of your letter, 1 
must be permitltnl to say, that my intercourse with General Harri- 
son left the conviction on my mind, that he was a gentleman, a 
soldier, a nd a patriot, and I deprec.ite most sincerely, the injustice 
attempted to be done him by a portion of that party with which I 
have always voted. 

I am, sir, respectfully, 

your obedient servant, 

J. SPEED SMITH. 
M. B. CoRwiN, E!flQ. 



46 APPENDIX. 

We certify, that we have carefully compared the letters as above 
printed, with the originals, and that they are true copies thereoi\ 
The original letters can be seen by calling on Moses B. Corwin, 
Esq. of Urbana, Champaign Co. Ohio, to whom they were 
directed. Alfred Kelley, 

N. M. Miller, 
F. Stewart, 
Robert Neil, 
Lyne Starling, jr. 
John L. Miner, 
John W. Andrews, 
Lewis Heyl, 
State Central Committee. 
Columbus, Ohio, March2l, 1840. 



In addition to the above authorities, ^he following is from military offi- 
cers who were present on thj ground, at the battle of Tippecanoe : 

"The battle of Tippecanoe having terminated a campaign which led U9 
to victory and honor, it is with pain we behold aspersions in the public 
prints aiming to destroy the confidence of our country in our late Command- 
er-in-chief. 

"Gov. Harrison having relinquished the command of the army lately em- 
ployed against the Indians, and probably as an officer left us forever, the. 
present statement cannot be attributed to servile flattery, but to the true 
and honest expression of our real sentiments in favor of a General whose 
talents, military science and patriotism, entitle him to a high rank among 
the worthies of the Union : and whom we consider injured by the gross 
misrepresentations of the ignorant and designing, who are alike inimical to 
the best of Governments and the best of men. 

"We, therefore, deem it a duty to state as incontestible facts that the 
Commander-in-chief, throughout the campaign, and in the hour of battle, 
proved himself the soldier and the General ; that on the night of the action, 
by his order, we slept on our arms, and rose on our posts; that, notvvith- 
standinor the darkness of the night, and the most consuiiimate savage cun- 
ninof of the enemy in eluding our sentries, and in rapidly rushing through 
the guards, we were not found unprepared; that few of them were able to 
enter our camp, and those few doomed never to return; that in pursuance 
of his orders, which were adapted to every emergency, the enemy were de- 
feated with a slaughter almost unparalleled among savages. Indeed, one 
sentiment of confidence, respect, and affection towards the Coinmander-in- 
chief, pervaded the whole line of the army, which any attempt to destroy 
we shall consider an insult to our understanding, and an injury to our feel- 
ings. Should our country again require our services, to oppose a civilized 
or savage loe, we should march under the command of Gov. Harrison with 
the most perfect confidence of victory and fame. 

Joel Cook, Captain ^th Infantrj/, 

JosiAH Swelling, Captain Ath IJniied States Infantry.. 

R. C. Barton, Captain 4th Infantry. 

O. G. Burton, Lieutenant 4th Infantry. 

Nathaniel P. Adams, Lieutenant 4th Infantry. 

Charles Fuller, Lieutenant 4th Infantry. 

A. Hawkins, Lieutenant 4th Infantry. 

George Gooding, 'id Lieutenant 4th Infantry. 

H. Bup.chstead, Ensign 4th United States Infantry. , 

JosiAH D. Foster, Surgeon 4th Infantry. 

HosEA Blood, Assistant Surgeon 4th Infantry.'''' 



APPENDIX. 41 

In the Legislature of Indiana, on the 12th November, 1811, the Speaker 
«f the House of Representativee, Gen. Wm. Johnson, thus addressed Gen- 
eral Harrison : 

"Sir: The House of Representatives of the Indiana Territory, in their 
own name, and in behalf of their constituents, most cordially reciprocate 
the congratulations of vour Excellency on the glorious result of the late 
sanguinary conflict with the Shawnee Prophet, and the tribes of Indiana 
confederated with him. When we see displayed in behalf of our country, 
not only the consummate abilities of the General, but the heroism of the 
man; and when we take into view the benefits which must result to that 
country from those exertions, we cannot for a moment withhold our meed 
of applause." 

And lastly, what said James Madison, in a special message to Congress, 
December H, 181 n He said : 

" While it is deeply lamented that so many valuable lives have been lost 
in the action which took place on the 7th ultimo. Congress will see, with 
satisfaction, the dauntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by 
every description of the troops engaged, as well as the collected firmness 
which di'tinuuished their commander, on an occasion requiring the utmost 
exertion of valor and discipline. It may reasonably be expected that the 
good effects of a critical defeat and dispersion of a combination of savages 
which appears to have been spreading to a greater extent will be expe- 
rienced, not only in the cessation of the murders and depredations commit- 
tt-d on OUT frontier, but in the prevention of any hostile incursions other- 
wise to have been apprehended. 



After the declaration of War, — ^^James Madison, in hi* Message to Con- 
gress, November 1812, said: ' An ample force from the States of Kentucky, 
Ohio, PennHvlvania, and Virginia, is placed, with the addition of a few reg- 
ulars, under the comiiinnd ot Hngadier General HiRRihciN, who possesses 
the entire confidence of his fellow-soldiers, among whom are citizens, some 
of them volunteers iri the ranks, rK>t less distinguished by their political sta- 
tions than by ilicir perponal merits.' " 

The defence of Fort Meigs may fatrlv be considered as one of the most 
brilliant and extraordinary events which distinguished the late war; that 
work ui defence, consisting ot a mud embankment and an enclosure of 
piquets, was defended triumphantly and suscessfully by about one thousand 
men, for many days, against the attack of Proctor, who commanded an ar- 
my of British and Indians, at least four times the number of Harrison'.'', and 
well furnished for the siege. Such were the skill, the bravery, and the in- 
defatigable efforts of Geaeml Harrison — such was the success of the repeat- 
ed sallies he made, thai he compelled the enemy tor abandon the siege m 
despair. 

One incident is worth mentioning, that, on the second day of the attack, 
rr.)ctor senr nn officer with a flag to demand the surrender of the post, on 
the grounds that the American lorces were too weak to sustain the siege 
against his overwhelming force, and General Proctor was anxious to save 
the effusion of blot»d. General Harrison promptly replied: 

"If General Proctor knows the usages of war, as I am bound to believe 

he does, he must either have considered me ignorant of them, or he must 

have intended an insult. It was his duty to make the d«mand before he 

comnicnred firing on the works. But, sir, said he, go back and tell your 

General that I know my own force and his, and that 1 shall defend the 

works to the last extremity. Tell him, further, that if he ever possesses 

f'.e fort, hr xhnll nhtain it in a way Ikat will ffive him more honor in the esli- 

'lation nf >iis (rovernvirnt than he could receive from a thoxis%nd surrci- 

rrs.''^ — Dawson's Life of Harrison, p. 39'2, 



D» 



I 



42 APPENDIX. 

Battle of the Thames. 

'* A more able disposition could not be made under such circumstances 
than was made by General Harrison. His conduct on this day is distin- 
guished by a masterly device of his own, purely original, and such as none 
but a bold and inventive genius, peculiarly formed for the military profes- 
sion, eould have hit upon, or would have hazarded. It was not until the 
5th of October that Proctor was overtaken. On that day the enemy was 
discerned in a position skilfully chosen. A narrow strip of dry land, flank- 
ed by the river Thames on the left, and by a swamp on the right, was oc- 
cupied by his regular infantry and artillery, while on the right flank lay 
Tecumseh with his followers on the eastern margin of the swamp. But 
Proctor committed an error in funning his infantry in open order. General 
Harrison availing hiinself of the fact, and aware that troops so disposed 
could not resist a charge of mounted men, he directe Col. Johnson to dash 
through the enemy's line in column. The movement was ma-ie with bril- 
liant success; The mounted men charged with promptitude and vigor, 
broke through the line of the enetny, formed in the rear, and assailed the 
broken line with success unequalled,' and nearly the whole of tlie British 
regulars were either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. On rhe left the 
Indians contended more severely, but Tecumseh being killed in the battle, 
they were soon subdued. Proctor fled in shameful desertion of liis troops, 
escorted by his life-guard. The defeat of tlie enemy was comphfe. All 
the baggage of Proctor, and military stores, together with his official pa- 
pers, fell into the hands of Gen. Harrison; and several field-pieces which 
had been taken from the British in the Revolutionary war at tSaratoga and 
Yorktown, but which had been shamefully surrendered by Hull at Detroit, 
were retaken. The war having been thus gloriously terminated in his own 
district, Gen. Harrison repaired to Erie, and soon after to the S' at of Gov- 
ernment, Washington City. His resignation soon followed, as he retired to 
his private residence at North Bend, in the State of Ohio, and is now living 
as a private citizen." 

'■^Resolved by the Senate and Hnuae of Repreaentaiives nfthe United States 
of America in Congress assembled^ That the thanks of Congress be, and 
they are herebv, presented to Major General William Henry Harrison and 
Isaac Shelbv, late Governor of Kentucky, and through them to the officers 
and men under their command, for their gallantry and uood conduct in de- 
feating the combined British and Indian forces under Major General Proc- 
tor, oiT the Thames, in Upper Canada, on the fifth da v of October, one thou- 
sand e ght hundred and thirteen, capturing the British army, with their 
baggage, camp equipage, and artillery ; and that the President of the United 
States°be requested to^cause two gold medals to be struck, emblematical of 
this triumph, and presented to Gen. Harrison and Isaac Shelby, late Gov- 
ernor of Kentucky. H. CLAY, 

" Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
"JOHN GAILLARD, 
" President of the Senate^ pro tempore. 

" April 4, 1818.— Approved, JAMES MONROE." 



Letter from Governor Scott of Kentucky to Moses Dawson of 

Cincinnati. 

"Moses Dawson, Esq., Sir: You request my opinion of Gen. William 
Henry Harrison as a citizen, a soldier, and a general. I have had the pleas- 
ure of an acquaintance, intimately, for many years with Gen. Harrison, and 
ever considered him a man of honor; one who sought to do justice, and 
who was always willing to assist and benefit the condition of those with 
whom he was acquainted and associated, and know him to be the friend of 
the oppressed and injured. Hospitality without ostentation was always to 
be found within his doors, and his household was ever ready to extend 
charity to the sick and needy. 



APPENDIX. 45* 

** As a soldier and an officer, I can speak from an acquaintance formed 
with him as such ihat I shall ever be proud of. I served under him in the 
campaign of 1811, upon the Wabash, as a Captain, and shareu with him the 
danger m 'the action of Tippecanoe, in the night, on the 7th November, 
181 1. No one on the march or in the return did 1 hear murmur a complaint 
of the General's conduct. He possessed the confidence, and was the pridt 
of the army — his absence even for one day was felt by the army. 

" 1 have thought, and still think, that few generals would have faced 
danger at so many points as General Harrison did in the action of Tippeca- 
noe. Wherever the action was warmest, was Gen. Harrison to be found, 
and heard encouraging and cheering the officers and soldiers. His human- 
ity, his atfcnticm, and his care of the wounded after the action, from the 
b«tfle-gr«>und to the hospital in Vinccnnes, was that of a btnevoltnt Chris- 
tian, and was evidence of the goodness ol his heart. I caiiiiot but say that 
I consider General Harrison's conduct in the campaign and in the action of 
Tippecanof unexceptionable as a soldier and as a General, and will be »o 
considered bv every soldier and officer of the United State?, when lorrectly 
mformed, who was q friend to the late war, an enemy to Indian warfare, 
and who returned from the army with clian hands. 

• "I am, sir, vours. Sec. 

"'l'Ht)M.AS bCOTT.^' 
[Motfi Datcson''s Life of Gen. Harritun^ p. "228. 



Extract of a letter from Governor Shelby^ dated at 

'•^ tiikShruiik^ A(<ril Jl, 1816. 

" In short, sir, from the time I joined you to the niomiiii ol our trpara- 
tion, I believe thai ou commander ever did, or could, niako greater exer- 
tions than you di<l to effict tlio great objects of the C": n 1 admired 
your plans, and thoujjht them executed with great . ^ . pari.cularly 
your order of baiile, und arrangement for landing on th<- Canadjt shore, 
were calc ' ' ro every officer and man with confidence that we 
could not : ■) any thing like our own number. 

"Until after I h »d served the campaign of 1813, 1 wa^ not aware of the 
difficulties which you had fo cnountrr as comniand« r of the NorthweBtern 
.Vrmy. I have since, often said, and still do believe, that the duties assign- 
ed to you on that occasion were more arduous and difficult to aceompliBh 
than any 1 had ever known confided to any commander; and with respect 
to the zeal and fidtlitv with which you executed that high and important 
trust, there are thousands in Kentucky, as well dj myself, who believe it 
could not have been committed to better hands. 

"With Hcntiments of the most sine- ird and esteem, 1 have the hon- 

*ir to be, Willi tfri at resptct, vour ubi >: rvant, 

^' ISAAC SHFLBY.'' 
[Duigion's Life of HarrxMon^ P^S^ •l^-^- 



Extract of a letter from Comuwdure Perry, dated at 

'^Newpokt, Au<,'ust L"^, 1817. 
" Although I have little or no pretension to military knowledge us relates 
lo an army, still I may be allowed to bear testimony to vour zeal and ac- 
tivity in the pursuit oi the British army under General Proctor, and to 8a\ 
the prompt clianije made by you in the order of battle, on discovtring the 
position of the enemy, always has appeared to me to have evinced a high 
Jegree of miliinry talriit. I concur most sinCerelv with the venerable Gov- 
'■rnor Shelby m his general approbaiion of your conduct (as (ar as it camt 
vtnder mv observation) in that campaign. 

'' With great regard, I am, my dear sir, your friend, 

"O. H. PERRY.'- 
[^DatcsorCs Life of Harrison^ page 423. 



44 APPENDIX. 

President Madison's opinion of General Harrison at the battle on the 
Thames: 

'* The success on Lake Erie having opened a passage to the territory of 
the enemy, the officer commanding the Northwertern arms transferred the 
war thither, and, rapidly pursuing the hostile troops fleeing with their sav- 
age associates, forced a general action, which quickly terminated in the 
capture of the British, and dispersion of the savage force. 

" This result is signally honorable to Maj. Gen. Harrison, by whose mili- 
tary talents it was prepared.''^ 

The opinion of the Hon. Langdon Cheves, of the importance of the victo- 
ry of the Thames, and the bravery of Gen. Wm. H. Harrison: 

*' The victory of Harrison was such as would have secured to a Roman 
General, in the best days of the Republic, the honors of a triumph! He put 
an end to the tvar in the Upperm^ost Canada."*^ 

The heroic and lamented Col. Davies of Kentucky, who fell at the battle 
of Tippecanoe, in a letter, dated the 24th of August, 1811, delivers this 
emphatic opinion : 

" I make free to declare that I have imagined there were two military 
men in the West, and Gen. Harrison is the first." 

From the message of Simon Snyder, Governor of Pennsylvania, Decem- 
ber 10, 1813: 

" Already is the brow of the young warrior, Croghan, encircled with lau- 
rels, and the blessings of thousands of women and children rescued from 
the scalping-knife of the ruthless savage of the wilderness, and from the 
still more savage Proctor, rest on Harrison and his gallant army." 

Gov. Shelby to Mr. Madison, May 18, 1814, says: 

" I feel no hesitation to declare to you that I believe General Harrison to 
be one of the first military men I ever knew.'^'' 

Col. Richard M. Johnson to Gen. Harrison, July 4^ 1813, says: 

«' We did not want to se, ve under cowards or traitors, but under one [Har- 
rison] who had proved himself to be wise, prudent, and brave.'''' 

And this same Col. Richard M. Johnson, now Vice President ol the Uni- 
ted States, thus expresses himself in a speech delivered in the House of 
Representatives of the United States, on the bill for the relief of the repre- 
sentatives of J. C. Harrison, deceased, March 2d, 1831 : 

"One of the securities is Gen. Wm, H. Harrison; and who is General 
Harrison? The son of one of the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, who spent the greater part of his large fortune in redeeming the 
pledge he then gave of " his fortune, life, and sacred honor," to secure the 
liberties of his country. 

"Of the career of Gen. Harrison I need not speak. The history of the 
West is his history. For forty years he has been identified with its in- 
terests, its perils, and its hopes. Universally beloved in the walks of peace, 
and distinguished by his ability in the councils of his country, he has been 
yet more illurtriously distinguished in the field. 

"During the late war, he was longer in active service than any other 
general officer ; he was perhaps oftener in action than any one of them, and 
never sustained a defeat." 



The reputation of General Harrison does n»t rest solely upon the ground 
of his military achievements, as will appear from a simple enumeration oi 
the civil posts to which he has been successively called : 

In 1791, when 19 years of age, he was appointed by Washington, an en- 
sign in our infant army. 

In 1793, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant : and in 1793, joined 
the legion under General Wayne, and in a few days therealter was selected 
by him as one of his Aids. 

On the 24th of August, 1794, he distinguished himself in the battle 
of the Miami, and elicited the most flattering written approbation of Gen- 
eral Wayne. 



APPENDn:. 45 

In 1795, he was made a Captain, and was placed in command of Fort 
Washington. 

In 1797, he was appointed hy President Adams, Secretary of the North- 
wrestern Territory, and ex nffirio Lieutenant Governor, 

In 1798, he wa» chosen a delegate to Consfress. 

In 1801, he was appointed Governor of Indiana, and in the same year 
i'reaident Jefferson appointed him- sole commissioner for treating with the 
Indians. 

In 1809, he was appointed Governor of Indiana, by Madison. 

On the 7th November, 1811, he gained the great victory of TIPPE- 
CANOK. 

On the 11th September, 1812, the siege of Fort Meigs commenced — last- 
ed five dav8, and was terminated by the brilliant and successful sortie ot 
General Harri-on. 

On the 5iii of (3ctobpr, 181.3, he gained the splendid vi« torv of the 
THAMES, over the British and Indians under Proctor. 

Ill 1814, hr was appointed by Madietin, one of the (.Onimissiioiiers to treat 
with the Indians, and in the sime year, with his colU agurn. Governor 
^lielby and (iencral Cass, concluded the cclebrafrd ir«-aty ol Gr«^nvilie. 

In 18)5, he wan aira^pj»pointrd such Commissioner, with General Mc- 
Arthur and Mr. (iraiiaW^nd negotiated a treaty at Detroit. 

lu 18IH, he was rlrcted u member of Congress. 

In Junuory, 1818, he introduced a resolution in honor of Kosciusko, and 
supported it in one of the mo<»r f ' -al and eloquent speeches, 

ever delivered in lh»- House of 1, 

in 1819, he wan elected a member of the Ohio Senate. 

In 1824, he was elected Senator in Congress*, and was npjointed, in 
18:25, Chairman of the Military Committee, in place of (Jeneral Juckson, 
who had resigned. 

In 1827, he WHS appointed Minister to Colombia, and in 1829 wrote his 
iiiiniortal letter to IJohvar, the deliverer of South America. 



Fjti(hfr( )i Reasons irlnj (icnfral Ifarrisoti ought 
to be FjUcU'd President of the I nited States, 

I. HrrAlSK ho is plrdgid to serve, if elected, but one term. 

l. Kvery pronnneni act oi Ins iiie proves him to be a friend and servant 
of his country, and a sterling |j«'nocraiic Republican, in th. ory and prac- 
tice. 

A. H«- would confine in. the Federal GovermiK n' m .ts own 

appropriate sphere, check ii-- . lal teiidencus, and ni;iiM., n the bal- 

ance of the ConHiituiion. 

•I. He would be ilie Prepideiit ul the .VANY,and not the agent of the few. 

5 Hetsoneol the People, and for the People. He SMnpalhises willi 
iirir wants, and understands their int(^rests. He agrees that, ^'acquiescence 
in ifie decisions of ihe majority is the vital principle of Republics." Ht» 
would exercise a ''jealous euro of the right of election by the peo[)le,'' and 
ft impart *» equal and exact justice to all men,'' and all sections. It is regard- 
ed as arf evidence of his belonging to the people, and ih< ir * nemies call him, 
in derision, "77jr Lnfr Catrin Candidate,"' and " M^ Pwr Man's I'resident.'''* 

6. He would liav<- the [iul>lic purse, not united wnh tin- sword, but kept 
in ^safety under the control of Congreas, as intended h\ the Constiiuiion. 

7. He agrees that the executive power has incren.eed, is increasing, and 
ought to be diminished, and will give his disinterested efforts to remedy the 



rVll 



8 He would preserve, or apply, the public lands, as a common fund, m 
accordance wi?li the compact, lor the benetii of ai.i,, and not a part of the 
^tates. ' 

9 He would restore the constitutional and republican course of legisK- 



46 APPENDIX. 

tion, act as the executor, not the originator of laws, and limit the veto power 
generally to cases of doubt. 

10. He would, to use the language of Jefferson, " support the State Gov- 
ernments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our 
domestic concerns, and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tenden- 
cies." 

11. He would not seek an Ex cutive Bank, nor renew the exploded 
system of Government paper money. 

12. He is the friend of labor, of commerce and of trade, and the advocate 
of a sound and uniform constitutional currency. 

13 He has spent forty years of faithful toil in the People's service, which 
he begun in youth and affluence, and ended in poverty without reproach. 

14. He would bringto theadministrationof the Governmentan enlighten- 
ed mind, comprehensive views, a magnanimous policy and an honest heart, 
and rest the merit of his administration upon the degree of good accom- 
plished for the greatest number. 

15. He is the father of the beneficent land system of the West, and the 
author of numerous laws and treaties worthy of an eminent statesman and 
diplomatist. 

16. H'slife is a history of the West — and for j^s pre-eminent and self- 
saerificing services as a soldier, as a Territorial SPCretary, as a Delegate, 
Representative, and Senator in Congress, as a Governor, as a General, a hero, 
a diplomatist, a statesman, a scholar, an honest man and patriot, he deserves 
the gratitude of his countrymen. 

17. He would reform and purify the departments of government, appoint 
honest and capable men to office, and stop the leaks in the Treasury. 

18. In view ot the great importance of the crisis. General Harrison is the 
MAN, reserved and quatified, as it would seem, "by Providdnce, for the oc- 
casion, to fill the high hope and destiny of the country. 

We might add more, but here are reasons enough to justify every man in 
the Republic, who desires to see the Constitution preserved, the Union per- 
petuated, and the public liberties transmitted, unimpaired, to posterity, in 
rallying for the patriot farmer and statesman of North Bend. 



" By their fruits ye shall know them;^' or, in the language of 
Gen. Jackson, the " Tree is known by its fruit.*' 

From the foregoing sketch of the Life and Public Services of William 
Henry Harrison, the reader will have perceived that a very large propor- 
tion of them have been devoted to the Western Country^ and in the promo- 
tion of its best interests and the prosperity and happiness of its citizens. 
And on the other hand, let him contrast the public acts of Mr. Van Buren 
merely in so far as the West is more intimately concerned, and then let him 
decide which is entitled to his vote for the high and exalted station of Pres- 
ident of these United States. 

Let the friends of Mr. Van Buren point to a single act of his public life 
calculated in the least to advance the interests or happiness of the West. 

We have carefully compiled the following votes from the journals. If 
Mr. Van Buren's votes against every Western measure, ia Congress, are 
*' fruits" pleasant to the palate of his supporters, we are much deceived. 
Let them examine the record, and see whether such a candidate for Presi- 
dent, has a single claim on the people of the West. . Can honest Jackson 
men vindicate the votes of the President and Mr. Van Buren, at the sanie 
time, on the same policy, and be consistent? They cannot— they will 
not. — People''s Echo. 

In the Senate, April 24, 1824. Mr. Van Buren, according to the journal, 
page 318, voted against " An act to procure the necessary surveys, plans 
and estimates, upon the subject of roads and canals." 

In Senate, May 19, 1824. Mr. Van Buren voted against "An act to im- 
prove the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers " Mr. Eaton, Gen.. 
Jackson and Mr. Benton voted for the bill. Journal, page 441. 



APPENEIX. 47 

In Senate, Feb. 11,1625. According to page 155 of the journal, Martin 
Van Burtn voted to strike out a provision of a bill " for making surveys 
and carrying on the operations of the Board of Engineers, in relation to in- 
ternal improvements." • 

Ou the 24th of February, Mr. Van Buren also voted against " An act for 
the continuation of the Cumberland Road.'' 

In Senate, March 20, 1826. Mr. Van Buren voted to strike out the fol- 
lowing from the first section of a bill entitled " An act making appropria- 
tions for the military service of the United States, for the year 1826," viz. — 
" For the continuation of the Cumberland Road, .-^100,000; which shall be 
replaced out uf the fund reserved for laying out and making roads, under 
the direction of Congress, by the several acts passed for the admission of 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and .Missouri into the Union,"' &c. Gen. Harrison 
voted against striking out. The same dav Mr. Van Buren voted for striking 
out oi the bill, an appropriation ot $50,000, for the above purpose. Gen. 
Harrison voted against it. 

In Senate, April 22. A bill was pa'^scil authorizing a "subscription for 
i,lock in th'; Louisville and Portland Canal Cuinpany."' Yeas 20 — Nnys 15. 
Gen. Harrison voting for, ond Mr. Van Buren against the subscription. 
Senate journal, pngc 2|^ 

May 10, (Jen. HarriJH^otcd for a bill *Mo grant a certain quantity of 
land to th« State of Illinois, for the purpose of aiding in opening a canal to 
connect the waters of the Illinois with those o{ Lake Michigan." Mr. Van 
Burtn voted ;ii;;iinnl the grant. See journal of the St-nute, page 317. 

On the I.'tih ..f February, 1827, "the Senate resumed, in committee of 
t!io whole, the bill to grant a certain quanltty of land to the State of Indi- 
ana, for the pill ' said Slate n ' canal to connect the 
waters of the W .... :, ihthoscofl. ' " On the question, 
shall this bill pans? it was decided in the affirmative, by a vote of 28 to 
U," Page 179 of St naie journal. Gen. Ilarrisou, Benton, &c. voting for 
it. Martin Van Burtn did not. 

Again : Feb. 17, ot the same year, on motion of Mr. Hendricks, of Indi- 
ana, " the Senate reauincd, as in comuiittce of the whole, a bill to author- 
ize a 8u' ^ on of stock, on the part of the United States, in the Coluni- 

buB and . -ky Turnpike Company." '' On the question, shall the bill 

be engrosBcd and read the third time.' it was decided by yeap, 27 — nays 
18." Gon. HarriBon voted for the appropriation— Mr. Van Buren against 
it. See journal, yn'^i: 19G. 

On the 27ih ol Ft b., the Senate pa.«»sod a bill " matting appropriations for 
the military •ervicp of the United States, for tlic year 1827." Mr. Van 
Buren vottd tti strike out the (i)llowing words, from the firtit section ol that 
bill, viz — " For constructing the road from Canton to Zanesville, in the 
Stat* of Ohi'o, and for continuing and con the survey oftheCuiii- 

herland road from Zanesville to the s<.at ol u.,.. iitnent of Missouri, $170,- 
000; which shall be replaced out of the lund n^irved for laying out and 
making roads under the direction of CongrtsH, bv the several acis passed 
for the admission of tfic Srttpsof Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, into 
the Union, on an equal footing with the original State.-*." Gen. Harrison 
voted for retaining the clause — lo did Messrs. Benton, Eaton, Hendrickp, 
Johnatin of Kmtuckv, King of Alabama, and every S» nator from the West 
and Southwest. There were 15 for striking out, luad* d by Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, always inimical to Wpslcrn interests; and 27 against. 

On the same day, Mr. Van Buren voted against an appropriation to de- 
fray the incidental e.vpenses of these surveys, of $30,000; and (ien. Har- 
rison for it. 

On the Ist of March, 1827, n bill for the preservation and r.pnirofthc 
Cunibrrland read, parsed the Senate, ye.ns, 22 — nays, 16; Mr. Van Buren, 
according to his consistent Abhorrence of internal improvements, voting 
ugainat the act ; Gen. Harrison, the undeviating friend of Western interests, 
voting for it. 



48 APPENDIX. 

Mr. Van Burens votes in Senate^ on the Cumberland Road, 

The following extracts from the Senate journal, s, eak for thetnselve?. 
And we recommend them especially to the attention of the citizens of Ala- 
bama, Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, as good and effi- 
cient reasons to induce them to give their votes for Martin Van Buren for 
President. Examine them well, read and reflect, and see how will these 
votes agree with your interests. — United States Telegraph. 

January 2^, 1828. The Senate took up, as in committee of the whole, 
the bill making appropriation for the construction of the Cumberland road 
from Bridgeport to Zanesville, in the State of Ohio, and for continuing and 
completing the surveys of the Cumberland road from Zanesville to the seat 
of Government in the State of Missouri; and no amendment having been 
made thereto, it was reported to the Senate; and on the question, shall this 
bill be engrossed and read a third time? it passed in the affirmative — yeas, 
25 — nays, 18; Mr. Van Buren voting against the bill. 

April 10, 1828. The Senate having under consideration, as in commit- 
tee of the whole, the bill entitled " An act making appropriations for infer- 
nal improvements, as amended;" on the question to agree to the tilth 
amendment, as follows: "Strike out of the first section the following 
words: ' For the completion of the Cumberland BMd) continued to Zanes- 
ville, in the State of Ohio, $175,003; wiiich said ^TO of money sliall be re- 
placed from the fund reserved for laying out and making roads, under the 
direction of Congress, bv the several acts passed for the admission of the 
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, into the Union, on an equal 
footing with the original States;" it was detirmined in the negative — yeas, 
18 — navp, 29; Mr. Van Buren voting in the affirmative. 

April 22, 1823. The Senate resumed, as in committee of the whole, the 
bill for the continuation of the Cumberland road, together with the amend- 
ments reported thereto, by the select committee on Roads and Canals; the 
said amendments having been agreed to, the bill was reported to the Sen- 
ate; and the amendments having been conc\irred in, on the question, Shall 
the bill be ensrrossed and read a third time?- it was determined in the affir- 
mative — yeas, 26 — nays, 15; Mr. Van Buren voting in the negative. 



One of the most prominent of the charges which were brought against 
the Administration of Mr. Adams, and which was most vehemently urged 
by his opponents, as a reason for a change in our rulers, was the pretended 
extravagance of the public expenditures. Bv contrasting the following 
statement of the annual amount of the expenditures of the (Government du- 
ring the four years of ?tlr. Adams' Administration, with tho?e of the eight 
rears of Gen. Jackson, and the three ycirs which have already elapsed, of 
Mr. Van Bnren's, the voters of the country can at once determine against 
whom the charge of extravagance should rest. 

OFFICIAL. 

Public Expenditure from 1824 to 1838. — Letter from the 
Secretary of the Treasury, tTansmittins; a statement of expen- 
diture, exclusive of the public debt, for each year, from 1824 

to 1838. 
June 28,*183S. — Read and laid upon the table. 

Treasury Depaktment,? 
JM7?e27, 1838. 5 
Sir — In ol edience to the resolution of the House of Representatives ol 
the 25th instant, I have the honor to "lay before the House a statement 
showing the amount of expenditure, exclusive of the public debt, for each 
year, from 1824 to 1838." 

I am verv respectfully vour obedient servant, 

LEVI WOODBURY, 
Secretary of the Treasury. 
Hon. J. K. Voire, Speaker of the House of Representatives. 



APPENDIX. 49 

Statement showing the amount of expenditures of the United States, ex- 
clusive of the public, debt, for each year, from 1824 to 1837 inclusive, stated 
in pursuance of a resolution of the Hou^e of Representatives of the 25ih 
June, 1838. 

For the year 1824, $15,330,144 71 

Do 1825, 11,490,459 94 

Do 1826, 13,0G2,316 27 

Do 1827, 12,053,095 65 

Do 1828, 13,296,041 45 

Do 1829, 12,660,460 62 

Do 1830, 13,229,533 33 

Do 1831, 13,864,067 90 

Do 1832, 16,516,688 77 

Do 1833, 22,713,755 11 

Do 1834, 18,425,417 25 

Do 1835, 17,514,850 28 

Do 1836, 3(»,HGH,I64 04 

Do la37, •39,164,745 37 

Note. — The r ng am i ' ide payments for trust funds and indem- 

nities, which, 1 , asjJHt 36. • 

^ T. L. SMITH, Renter. 

TRtAbUBV DtPARl.MK.Vr, 

Jirgulcri OJu-e, June 27, 1838. 
*This sum is subject to small variation on the settlement of the accounts 
of the Treasurer. 



Note by the Publither from Fublic Dnntmentt. 

Mr. Van Buren's 3 years, 1837, f rw,ir»-l,745 

1838, 40,127,218 

1839, 31,815,000 

Totat, 111,406,963 

Average each year, $37,135,654 33 



VnoJJicidL 

Contrast the expenditures of the Government under the prcs<Mif with those 
of former Administrations; then rend the following, and rertcct before you 
vote!!!!!!!!! 

The following are literal extracts from the report of the Secretary of 
War, and the message ot the President of the United States, on the subject 
of the increase of the Army of the United States: 

'* It is proposed to divide the United States into eight military districts, 
and to orgnnize the m.litia in each district, so as to have a body of twelvw 
thousand five hundred men in active service, and anotlier of equal number 
a.H a reserve. This would give an armed militia force of two hundred tbou- 
land men, so drilled und stationed as to be ready to take their places in the 
ranks in defence of their country whenever called upon lo oppose the enemy 
or repel the invader. The age of the recruit to be from twenty to thiriy- 
8cv< n ; the whole time of service to be eicht ycors — four years in the first 
ctasN, and four in the reserve ; one-fourth part, twenty-five thousand men, 
to leave the service every year, passing, at the conclusion of the first term, 
into the n serve, and exem[)ted from ordinary militia dutv altogether at the 
end of the second. In this manner, twenty-five thousand men will be dis- 
charged from militia duty every year, and twenty-five thousand fresh re- 
cruits be received into the service. It will be sufficient for all useful pur- 
poses, that the remainder of the militia, under certain rei^ulations providedL 
for their government, be enrolled and be mustered at !i>f)^ fiifa staie^hlnter- 
▼als; for, in due prccc?.? ortiiiK , nearly the wiiole mass of the militia will 
pas* through the first and second classes, and be cither members of the ac- 



APPENDIX. 

live corps, or of the reserve, or counted among the exempts, who will be 
liable to be called upon only in periods of invasion or imminent peril. The 
manner of enrolment, the number of days of service, and the rate of com- 
pensation, ought to be fixed by law; but the details had better be left sub- 
ject to regulation — a plan of which I ara prepared to submit to you." 

Here is the endorsation of this monstrous project by Mr. Van Buren, in 
his last annual message : 

" The present condition of the defences of our principal seaports and navy 
yards, as represented by the accompanying report of the Secretary of War, 
calls for the early and serious attention of Congress; and, as connecting it- 
self intimately with this subject, I cannot recommend too strongly to your: 
consideration the plan submitted by that officer for the organization of the 
militiaof the United States." 

The following is the 17th section of the plan of details proposed by the 
Secretary of War for the organization of the militia of the United States, 
thus recommended by Mr. Van Buren — by which the power is to be given to 
the President to assemble such numbers, at such places, and at such times, 
within their respective districts, as he may deem necessary — not exceeding 
twice in one year. The people are required, if called on, to perform mili- 
tary duty beyond the limits of their own Stat|||k at the will of the Pres- 
ident, there being only eight districts in the iJnion, and consequently 
several States in a district. 

We have only to call your attention to the universal prediction made in 
1833, at the time of the reinoval of the deposites, and reiterated down to the 
present time, viz : That when the Federal Executive obtained unlimited con- 
trol over the public purse, the next step would be to raise a standing army. 
Here it is in its full proportions 1 1 1 

The next step towards the downfall of this republic, under the false garb 
of democracy, we leave you to conjecture. In the mean time, you are en- 
treated to pause before you strike this last fatal blow at the liberties of youi 
country. 

"17. That the President of the United States be authorized to call forth 
and' assemble such numbers of the active force of the militia, at such placee 
within their respective districts, and at such times, not exceeding twice. 

nor days in the same year, as he may deem necessary; and during 

such period, including the time when going to and returning from the place 
of rendezvous, they shall be deemed in the service of the United States, anc 
be subject to such regulations as the President may think proper to adopi 
for their instruction, discipline, and improvement in military knowledge.' 
We, the undersigned, hereby certify that the above extracts are true cop 
ies from the reports of the Secretary of War, and from the message of th< 
President of the United States. 

R. Garland, o/Lousiana, 
John Bell, of Tennessee, 
John M. Botts, of Virginia, 
Thos. Corwin, of Ohio, 
M. H. Grinnell, ofJ^ew York, 
J. C. Clark, ofJV'ew York, 
Leverett Saltonstall, of Mass., 
Truman Smith, of Connecticut, 

Executive Committee. 
April 18, 1840. 



Chahles Scott, Printee, 
Columbus, O., 1840. 



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